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Liberty Enlightening the World 



THE CITIZEN AND THE 
REPUBLIC 

A TEXT-BOOK IN GOVERNMENT 



BY 

JAMES ALBERT WOODBURN 

PROFESSOR OF AMERICAN HISTORY, INDIANA UNIVERSITY 

AND 

THOMAS FRANCIS MORAN 

PROFESSOR OF HISTORY AND ECONOMICS, PURDUE UNIVERSITY 



LONGMANS, GREEN AND CO. 

FOURTH AVENUE & 3OTH STREET, NEW YORK 

PRAIRIE AVENUE & 25TH STREET, CHICAGO 



Vi ^ 



COPYRIGHT, 191 8, BY 
LONGMANS, GREEN AND CO. 



Published, December, 1918 






DEC -9 1918 



'CI.A506834 



INTRODUCTION 

THIS volume is intended as a text-book for use in courses 
in Civil Government in secondary schools. It should 
foUow, or accompany, a high school course in American 
History. It is an attempt to answer the demand for that 
which is needful and important in the "new civics" some- 
times called "community civics," and at the same time to 
hold fast to that which is good in the old. 

In introducing an educational reform there is always 
danger of over-emphasis; there is danger that we may not 
have a good thing without having too much of it. The 
authors of this volume, while emphasizing "community 
civics" and the moral purposes in teaching government, 
have sought to avoid a one-sided course. They believe that 
the schools should study the community and such "new 
civics" as the changing times call for, and especially 
that they should give attention to current history and present- 
day problems of democracy; but it is equally important not 
to neglect certain aspects of the old established order. It may 
be well to set pupils to the laboratory method of studying the 
actual life of our city communities, — how milk and water are 
supplied, how food is distributed, how public health is pre- 
served, how the streets are kept clean (or dirty), how the 
taxes are raised and used, and how the schools are sustained. 
But to limit a high school course in civics to such a field of 
study is to commit a great wrong to young people who are 
under training for citizenship. 

The field of civics is the world. Any course that con- 
centrates the pupils' attention to their own village, city, or 
State, to the exclusion of the rest of the world, is narrow and 
foolish. The Constitution of the United States is still in 



iv INTRODUCTION 

running order, and it is still a document worthy of the careful 
study of all citizens who are to live under it. The State and 
National Governments under their constitutions, and how 
these Governments are conducted, are still matters of prime 
importance for high school study in civil government. Teach- 
ers of civics should not be encouraged to neglect these old 
fields of learning. 

We should seek at all times and places and in all courses 
of study to train the young in social intelligence, social dis- 
position, and social efficiency. Above all, every possible 
effort should be made to see that young citizens in our schools 
should be rooted and grounded in the fundamental principles 
and ideals for which America has always stood, that they 
may come to understand the foundations of their democracy, 
the sources of their liberties and the means by which these 
liberties may be preserved, and the deep significance of Ameri- 
can citizenship. This, let us hope, may lead these citizen- 
rulers of America to aspire to such national and international 
ideals and relationships as will be best calculated to achieve 
and cherish justice, peace, and democracy throughout the 
world. This volume is offered as a contribution to this 
high end. 



CONTENTS 

CHAPTER PAGE 

I. The American Citizen: His Rights and 

Duties i 

n. Present Day Problems in a Democracy . 32 

in. The Enlarging Powers of Government . . 76 

rV. The Community and the Citizen: Local 

Government 94 

V. City Government no 

VI. The States and Their Government .... 142 

VII. The Government of Territories and 

Dependencies 167 

Vni. Forms and Functions of Government ... 173 

IX. The Constitution: Written and Unwritten 182 

X. The Federal Republic: The Relation of 

THE States to the Nation 196 

XI. Political Parties, Past and Present . . . 203 

Xn. Parties AND their Machinery: How a Party 

Nominates and Elects a President ... 218 

XIII. The President 234 

XIV. The Senate 258 

XV. The House 271 

V 



vi CONTENTS 

XVI. The Relation of the President to Con- 
gress: The Cabinet and the Executive 
Departments 301 

XVII. The Judiciary 323 

XVIII. Money and Taxes .. . 337 

XIX. The Nation in its Foreign Relations . . 355 

XX. American Ideals in Government 386 

AT END or VOLUME 

Appendix 

Articles of Confederation — The Constitution of the 
United States — Statistical Tables 

Index 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 

Liberty Enlightening the World Frontispiece 

Candidates for Citizenship Taking the Oath of page 

Allegiance facing 4 . 

Facsimile of an Australian Ballot " 5 

Scientists at Work in Dairy Laboratory, U. S. Depart- 
ment of Agriculture " 80' 

Children Working in a Cannery " Si- 
Employees' Dining Room in an Industrial Establish- 
ment " 81 

A New England Town Hall " 96 

A New England Common " 96/ 

County Court House, Memphis, Tennessee " 97 

County Court House, Mobile, Alabama " 97 

A Road before and after Improvement " 106 

Beginners' Class in a Moonlight School, Knox County, 

Tennessee " 107 

City Hall, Oakland, California " 132 

Seward Park Playground, New York City " 133 

Lincoln Park, Chicago " 133 

At the Milk Station, Mt. Morris Park, New York City. " 136 

A City Dispensary " 136 

Soldan High School, St. Louis, Missouri " 137 

New Central Library BuUding, Indianapolis " 137 

State Capitol, St. Paul, Minnesota " 150 

State Capitol, Albany, New York " 150 

House of Representatives of State Legislature in 

Session, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania " 151 

A Court Room for the Trial of Cases " 158 

Prisoners Exercising in a Prison Yard " 158 

Facsimile of a State Law " 159 

Executive Building, Honolulu, Hawaii " 170 

Federal Building, San Juan, Porto Rico " 170 

Government Building, Manila, P. I " 170 

Paying $25,000,000 for the Danish West Indies, March, 

1917 " 171 

Receipt for the $25,000,000 Paid for the Danish West 

Indies " 171 

Facsimile of the 17th Amendment to the Constitution . " 192 

RepubKcans Nominating a Presidential Candidate ..." 224 

Democrats Nominating a Presidential Candidate ..." 225 

Presidential Campaigning in the West " 230 

A Political Parade " 230 

Crowd in Longacre Square, New York City, Reading the 

Election Returns " 231 

The White House, Washington, D. C " 234 

The Executive Offices, Adjoining the White House. . . " 234 

vii 



viii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGE 

A Corner of the President's Study in the White House . facing 235 
President Wilson Taking the Oath as President on the 

Steps of the Capitol " 238 

A Presidential Proclamation •. . " 239 

The Senate Chamber, Capitol Building, Washington, 

D. C " 258 

U. S. Senate Office Building, Washington, D. C " 259 

The Opening of a Session of the House of Representatives " 282 

A Congressional Committee in Session " 283 

Office Building of the House of Representatives . . . . " 283 

Facsimile of a Federal Law " 290 and 291 

Capitol Building, Washington, D. C " 302 

President's Room at the Capitol, Washington, D. C. . " 303 
President Wilson Reading a Message to tire Joint Houses 

of Congress " 306 

A Meeting of President Wilson and his Cabinet .... " 307 

An American Passport " 310 and 311 

State, War, and Navy Departments, Washington, D. C. " 312 

Department of Agriculture, Washington, D. C " 312 

Patent Office, Washington, D. C " 312 

The Treasury Department, Washington, D. C " 313 

A Silver Vault, U. S. Treasury, Washington, D. C. . . " 313 

Chamber of the Supreme Court of the United States . " 330 

Clearing House, New York City " 344 

Custom House Officers Examining Baggage at a Steam- 
ship Pier " 345 

Government Inspection of Groceries at Custom House, 

N. Y " 345 

Pan-American Building, Washington, D. C " 368 

Recognition of the German War against the United 

States " 369' 



MAPS AND CHARTS 

Diagram of Increase of Population in United States . . " 33 

Direct Democracy " 42 

Specimen Short Ballot for a City Election " 46 

Ballot Illustrating Preferential Voting " 55 

A Health Message to the People _. . " 67 

Diagram of Increase and Decline of Immigration since 

i860 " 68 

Chart Illustrating Extent of Immigration for Ten Years 

from 1907 " 69 

Per Cent of Foreign-Born Whites, etc., in United States, 

1910 " 71 

City Expenses and City Debt " 119 

Simplicity of Present Charter Compared with Old Way 

in Spokane, Washington " 127 

A Gerrymandered State " 273 

The Field of Congressional Government " 298 



THE 
CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 

CHAPTER I 

THE AMERICAN CITIZEN: HIS RIGHTS AND DUTIES 

Who are Citizens 

A CITIZEN is a member of the nation who owes the nation 
allegiance and is entitled to its protection. Under the Old 
Confederation (i 781-1789) there were no citizens of the ^*^*® 
United States; the people were citizens of the several States. National 
The United States had nothing to do with citizens; it dealt Citizenship 
with States. The nation had yet to grow. The central Gov- 
ernment, under certain circumstances, might act on behalf of 
a State's citizen, but it was understood that citizenship was 
entirely a State matter. Even after the Constitution was 
adopted there were doubts and arguments as to who were 
citizens of the United States and by what authority they 
became such. It was contended by those who held to the 
compact view of the Constitution that one could be a 
citizen of the United States only by having a local citizen- 
ship in some State or territory; that there was no such thing 
as a citizenship at large, without a local citizenship, like being 
a sort of citizen of the world.^ 

This States rights view of citizenship, expressed by the 
Supreme Court in the Dred Scott case, while it recognized 
the right of Massachusetts or Vermont or any other State 
to confer the rights and privileges of its own State citizen- 
ship upon the negro, asserted that these rights and privileges 

1 Calhoun on "The Force Bill," Works, Vol. II, p. 242. 
I 



i THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 

would be restricted to the State which gave them. The 
State could not make him a citizen of the United States or 
give him a right to become a citizen of any other State. 
The Court asserted tliat a man of African descent and slave 
birth could not, under the Constitution, become a citizen 
of the United States. 

It was evident that citizenship ought to be made certain; 

that it should be determined by some common authority. 

DefinitioQof 3q after the Civil War, when the slaves had been set free 

American ... 

Citizenship by and the national view of citizenship and the Constitution had 
the 14th prevailed, in order to settle all controversy and to give equal 

Amendment . . . J b ^ 

rights to all men alike, white or black, the Constitution was 
amended and for the first time clearly defined American 
citizenship : 

All persons born or naturalized in the United States and 
subject to the jurisdiction thereof are citizens of the United States 
and of the State wherein they reside. 

This is a part of the Fourteenth Amendment and it makes 
clear who are citizens of the United States. No State has 
any right to deny the privileges of its citizenship to any 
American citizen, of whatever creed, color, or nationality. 
"Born in the United States" is broadly construed. A child 
of an American ambassador, if born in the ambassador's 
residence in a foreign country, is considered a "natural born" 
citizen of the United States, as also would be a child born to 
an American sea captain on his vessel in a foreign port. A 
national vessel is like "a bit of the national soil afloat." Also 
all children born out of the limits and jurisdiction of the 
United States whose fathers are American citizens at the time 
of the children's birth are declared to be citizens of the United 
States. If they continue to reside abroad they must, upon 
reaching the age of i8, register their intention to remain 
citizens and become residents of the United States and at 
21 they must take the oath of allegiance to the United States. 



THE AMERICAN CITIZEN: HIS RIGHTS AND DUTIES 3 



But the rights of citizenship do not descend to children whose 
fathers have never resided in the United States.^ Children 
born of aHens in the United States are citizens of the United 
States unless and until they renounce their citizenship by 
expatriation. 

Ways of Acquiring Citizenship 

An alien woman if married to an American citizen (native 
or naturalized) becomes thereby herself a citizen. The wife is 
by law a citizen of her husband's country. Therefore when 
an alien husband becomes naturalized his acquired citizenship 
carries with it citizenship for his wife, provided she belongs to 
the classes allowed by law to become citizens of the United 
States. The wife has no necessity to apply for naturalization, 
though an unmarried woman may do so. On the other hand, 
if an American woman, being a citizen, marries an alien she 
loses her American citizenship. By widowhood or divorce she 
may recover her American citizenship, by her own declaration.^ 

Children follow the political conditions of the parents. A 
minor child becomes naturalized or expatriated by the parents' 
action. If an alien who has begun the process of natu- 
ralization should die before he is actually naturalized, his 
widow and children are considered as citizens of the United 
States, upon their taking the prescribed oaths. A naturalized 
citizen who returns to the country from which he came, after 
two years' residence there, loses his citizenship, unless he 
makes a declaration of his desire to retain it before the 
proper consular or diplomatic officer. 

Some are born citizens, others acquire citizenship. The 
population of a country consists of citizens and aliens. Natu- 
ralization is the process by which aliens become citizens. In 
order to become naturalized the alien applicant for American 
citizenship must "declare his intention" at least two years 

1 Act of Congress, 1855, Revised Statutes, Section 1993. 
^ A bUl has been introduced into Congress (1918) allowing a married 
woman to act for herself and choose her own citizenship. 



Citizenship of 
Women 



Citizenship 
of Children 



Naturalization 



THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 



Some Aliens 
are barred 
from 
Naturalization 



before citizenship can be fully acquired. To do this he must 
go before a Court of Record (State or Federal) in some state 
and take an oath to the effect that he is at least eighteen years 
of age and that he desires to become a citizen of the United 
States; he must then renounce all allegiance to any foreign 
country of which he has been a subject, and give up all claim 
to any title of nobility which he may have possessed ; he must 
take the oath of allegiance to the United States and swear 
fealty to our Constitution and our laws, and he must inform 
the court on certain matters touching his birth, past life, and 
immigration to America. He is then given his "first papers," 
and when he has resided in the United States for five years 
and fulfilled the necessary qualifications as to character he is 
given a certificate of naturalization which makes him a citizen. 
By the law of 1906 the alien, in order to be naturalized, must 
be able to write his own language and be able to read and 
speak English. 

Certain foreigners are prevented from acquiring American 
citizenship by naturalization. Only Caucasians and Africans 
are given the privilege, only "free white persons" and "per- 
sons of African nativity and African descent." We go to the 
extremes in colors, including the whites and the blacks, but 
leaving out the yellows and the browns. This seems like an 
absurd distinction in our law. Yet no Asiatics may be natural- 
ized. No Mongolians or Malays, Chinese, Japanese, Burmese, 
or East Indians can become citizens of the United States 
unless they are born here or are permitted to become citizens 
by a special act of Congress. The Turk is not excluded 
or the Armenians, and an exception has been made in favor of 
the Filipinos and Samoans. Polygamists, anarchists, and 
certain other classes of criminals may not be naturalized; 
they are not considered worthy of our citizenship.^ 

^ The Bureau of Naturalization recommends ability to speak the 
English tongue as a prime requisite in training the alien population 
in American citizenship. "It is through this medium alone that aliens 
can acquire a practical knowledge, both in and out of the schools, of our 



P 3 



K H 



1-1. >-( 



P Cj' 





Facsimile of an Australian Ballot, National and State Ticket 



THE AMERICAN CITIZEN: HIS RIGHTS AND DUTIES 5 

There are other ways of acquiring citizenship than by 
birth and naturaHzation. When the United States acquires 
territory it may confer citizenship upon the whole body of 
people residing therein. This may be done by the treaty Citizenship in 

r ... 1 e r~> /^- • t • Acquired 

of acquisition, or by an act 01 Congress. Citizenship was Territories 
guaranteed by the acquiring treaty to the inhabitants of Louisi- 
ana (1803), of Florida (1819), of California and the Mexican 
Cessions (1848), Alaska (1867), and in igoo an act of Congress 
provided that all persons who were citizens of Hawaii at the 
time of its acquisition by the United States (1898) should be 
admitted to citizenship. The inhabitants of Porto Rico and 
the Philippines were not made citizens in the treaty following 
the Spanish- American War (1898), but the Porto Ricans by 
an act of Congress signed by President Wilson March 2, 
191 7, were made American citizens, and this could be done 
by Congress for the Philippines at any time. The Constitu- 
tion does not "follow the flag" of its own strength {ex propio 
vigor e), in the way of extending citizenship over acquired 
peoples, but a treaty law or a law of Congress is required to 
incorporate a territorial group of alien people into our body 
politic. Congress has repeatedly conferred citizenship upon 
whole tribes of Indians on breaking up their tribal relations. 
An American may renounce his citizenship and become 
a citizen or subject of a foreign power. "Once a citizen always 
a citizen" was a familiar saying a hundred years ago. It 
meant that citizenship was indelible, — it could not be erased, Citizensiiip 
destroyed, or renounced. The idea was opposed in America Expatriation" 
as it was desired to have Europeans become naturalized in the 
United States. Great Britain favored the principle, as she 
wished to maintain a claim upon the services of her citizens. 

institutions. This will lay the necessary foundation for instruction 
in some simple outline of American civics, the duties and the obligation 
as well as the privileges and immunities of American citizenship. Above 
all they should be taught that the supreme authority in this country 
is the law and that the first duty of an American citizen is obedience 
to that law." 



6 THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 

Now most European nations admit the right of expatriation, 
that is, the right of a citizen or subject to renounce his 
country and become the adopted citizen of another country. 
This is agreed to by treaties between nations. 

"Dual Nationality" or "Double Allegiance" 

Different countries have different laws relating to nationality 
and allegiance. On this account the terms "dual nationality" 
and "double allegiance" have been used in international law. 
May a citizen's allegiance and service be claimed by two coun- 
tries? This would seem to be inconsistent, if not absurd. 
As a man cannot serve two masters, so two nations may not 
claim a citizen's allegiance. No person can be a citizen of 
two countries. 

But there is a conflict of laws on this subject which has given 
rise to much discussion. Each nation claims the right to de- 
termine for itself, according to its own constitution and laws, 
what class of persons shall be entitled to its citizenship and 
whose allegiance it will claim. Our constitution says that all 
persons born in the United States are citizens of the United 
States whether born of parents who are citizens or aliens. 
But Germany claims as German subjects the children of Ger- 
man subjects wherever they may be born, and by a German 
law of 1 91 3 that country encourages Germans who go to 
other parts of the world to retain their allegiance to Ger- 
many, even though they may go through the form of offering 
their allegiance to another nation. Also the French Civil 
Code claims as Frenchmen "every person born of a French- 
man, in France or abroad." The French law of citizenship 
is not territorial but national. France applies the law of race 
or blood {jus sanguinis), while the United States applies the 
law of the land or the place {jus soli). 

Thus may arise a conflict of claims. In case of an American 
child born in France and of a French child born in America 
there may be a claim of a double citizenship or double 



THE AMERICAN CITIZEN: HIS RIGHTS AND DUTIES 7 

allegiance. Both countries may claim both children. The 
French boy, born in America and grown to manhood, if he 
should go to France might be claimed and forced into military 
service by that country, from which his American citizenship, 
acquired by birth in this country, might not be able to protect 
him. Our Department of State recently said to a young man 
born of French parents in New Orleans who wished to know 
if his American citizenship would protect him from compulsory 
military service in France if he should go to that country, 
"It thus appears that you were born with a dual nationality, 
French under French law, American under American law, 
and the Department cannot therefore give you any assurance 
that you would not be held liable for the performance of mili- 
tary service in France, should you voluntarily place yourself 
within French jurisdiction." 

These conflicting claims to allegiance should be settled by 
neighborly international agreements. Japan has passed 
such a law, releasing from allegiance Japanese born in other „ ^ . 
lands. It is a friendly act toward the United States, doing one Allegiance 
away with the evil of double allegiance. Each country 
should provide a way by which a child born in a foreign 
country should become a citizen of that country if he remains 
there. Or, a conflict might be avoided by the acceptance of 
the idea that "the duties of allegiance are determined by the 
laws of that one of the two countries in which the citizen 
actually is; or that a child in attaining his majority has the 
right to elect which of the two allegiances he will retain, and 
this election he should be required to make." 

It is certain that a "double allegiance" cannot be tolerated 
in America. Subjects of European nations who come to this 
country, take the oath of allegiance to America and become 
naturalized citizens cannot be allowed to acknowledge alle- 
giance to any European nation. Such "hyphenated citizens" 
would be dangerous in any country. Loyalty to America 
is expected of all. 



8 THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 

America contends, as it has always contended, for the doc- 
trine of voluntary expatriation and that an European who has 
migrated to this country and become a citizen here owes alle- 
giance to America only. And their children born in this coun- 
try owe their first and only allegiance to America. To admit 
a "double allegiance" in such cases would be to deny the 
validity of the long-standing American position against the 
doctrine, "Once a citizen always a citizen." A citizen of 
America may forswear his allegiance and become a citizen 
of another country. His status and allegiance would then 
be clear. Likewise, when aliens become citizens of the United 
States by naturalization they forswear their old allegiance 
and take on a new. They may not acknowledge both. So, 
when the government of Austria-Hungary forbade former 
subjects of that country who had been naturalized in 
America, to work in American munition factories, or when 
it was stated that under the German law of nationality (of 

January i, 1914) Germans who may have acquired naturali- 
zation in America may under certain conditions retain their 

German allegiance, these powers made a demand that no 
foreign nation had any power to enforce or any right to 
claim. Foreigners living and working in America without 
having been naturalized are subject to the call of their 
former government only to the extent that they themselves 
may voluntarily recognize; no foreign government can ex- 
ercise jurisdiction or in any way compel any action over 
aliens while they are domiciled in this country. "Every in- 
dependent State has, as one of the incidents of its sovereignty, 
the right of legislation and jurisdiction over all persons within 
its territory," and no sovereignty can extend its jurisdiction 
beyond its own territorial limits.^ 

^ Secretary Fish to the President, August 25, 1873, Foreign Relations, 
1873; II, 1186, 1191-1192. On this subject of "Double Nationality" 
or "Double Allegiance," see John Bassett Moore's International Law 
Digest, Vol. Ill, pp. 518-551. Also report on "Citizenship of the 



THE AMERICAN CITIZEN: HIS RIGHTS AND DUTIES 9 



The Republic can recognize in its citizenship but one 
standard, — the standard of loyalty to one country, one gov- 
ernment, one flag, one allegiance. This unity and loyalty in 
citizenship requires but one language, "the language of the 
Declaration of Independence, of Washington's Farewell Ad- 
dress, of Lincoln's Gettysburg Speech." 

"Americans are the children of the crucible. From the 
melting pot of life in this free land all men and women of all 
nations who come hither emerge as Americans and nothing 
else. They must have renounced completely and without 
reserve all allegiance to the land from which they or their 
forefathers came. And it is a binding duty on every citizen 
of this country in every important crisis to act solidly with 
all his fellow Americans, having regard only to the honor and 
interest of America, treating every other nation purely on its 
conduct in that crisis, without reference to his ancestral pre- 
dilections or antipathies. If he does not so act he is false to 
the teachings and the lives of Washington and Lincoln; he is 
not entitled to any part or lot in our country and he should 
be sent out of it." ^ 



The " Children 
of the Cruci- 
ble": the 
" Melting Pot " 



United States," House Document, No. 326, 59th Congress, 2d Session, 
1906. This Report prepared for Congress by James B. Scott, Solicitor 
of the Department of State, David Jayne Hill, Minister to the Nether- 
lands, and Gaillard Hunt, Chief of the Passport Bureau, recognized 
the "dual allegiance and conflict of citizenship" to which the text 
refers, but it did not prescribe a plan for settling questions of double 
nationality beyond recommending a law requiring persons born abroad 
of American citizens who should elect American citizenship rather 
than that of the country of their birth to make a formal declaration 
to that effect before an American consul upon reaching the age of 
eighteen years, and to take the oath of allegiance to the United States 
upon reaching twenty-one. This is now required. Richard W. Flournoy, 
Chief of the United States Bureau of Citizenship in the Department 
of State at Washington,- had an article on "Problems of Dual Nation- 
ality" in the Ne'iv York Times of September 12, 1915, Magazine Section. 
See also, "When is an American not an American?" by Theodore Roose- 
velt in Metropolitan Magazine for June, 1915. 

^ Theodore Roosevelt, in The Children of the Crucible. 



10 



THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 



Citizenship and Suffrage 



Who are 
Voters? 



Fifteenth 
Amendment 



All Citizens are 
not Voters: All 
Voters are not 
Citizens 



Voters are those who take part in elections to choose the 
ofiScers of the government or who, by the expression of their 
opinion or desire at the ballot box, help to determine the gov- 
ernment's poUcy. Voting has always been determined by the 
State, not by the United States. It was not until after the 
Civil War that any restriction was placed on the State in this 
respect; then by the Fifteenth Amendment it was decreed 
that the right of citizens of the United States to vote shall 
not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State 
on account of "race, color, or previous condition of servitude." 
This was to prevent the Southern States from denying suffrage 
to the blacks who had been made citizens by the Fourteenth 
Amendment, and who had been made voters in the seceding 
States by the Reconstruction Acts of Congress as a condi- 
tion of the readmission of the ex-confederate States into the 
Union. The Fourteenth Amendment left suffrage entirely to 
the States, but it offered a premium for negro suffrage by 
providing that if any State denied the suffrage to any 
United States citizen above 21 (except for crime or partici- 
pating in the Rebellion), its representation in Congress should 
be reduced accordingly. Barring these provisions of the Con- 
stitution, every State is free to make its own suffrage laws. 

Citizenship and voting do not necessarily go together. 
All citizens are not voters. Some States have given full 
suffrage to women. In other States women citizens may vote 
in local school elections, or on certain tax questions, or for 
ofl&ces not created by the State constitution, while in still 
other States women are not allowed to vote at all. Children 
are citizens, but they are not allowed to vote in any State 
because they are still under the control of others. 

Just as all citizens are not voters, so some voters are not 
citizens, since in some States aliens who have merely declared 
their intention to become citizens are allowed to vote. This 



THE AMERICAN CITIZEN: HIS RIGHTS AND DUTIES II 



is true in eleven States, — Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, Kansas, 
Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, 
Wisconsin. A residence requirement of from six months to 
two years is imposed. It would seem that a State should 
require a voter to be a full-fledged citizen of the United States. 
Many thousands of foreigners under the influence of poUtical 
workers "declare their intention" merely for voting purposes 
without completing or really intending to complete their 
naturalized citizenship. 

It is important always to keep in mind that the States deter- 
mine who may vote. A State could allow boys of eighteen 
to vote or not permit men to vote until they are twenty-five, 
though the loss of representation in Congress required in the The states 
Fourteenth Amendment might be imposed for such a restriction, p^^ege of 
Who may vote for President and Vice President and members Voting 
of Congress, as well as for all State officers, depends entirely 
upon the constitution and laws of the State. The only thing 
the Constitution of the United States says about the suffrage 
(apart from the Fourteenth and Fifteenth amendments, to 
which we have referred) is that those persons may vote who are 
qualified to vote for "the most numerous branch of the State 
legislature." When the Constitution was made it was not 
expected that the people would be allowed to vote for Presi- 
dent and Vice President and United States Senators; so in 
dealing with the suffrage the Constitution referred only to 
voters (electors) in their choice of the House of Representatives. 
But the rule for voting mentioned above has always held good. 

All the States require their voters to be twenty-one years 
of age. Connecticut requires an educational test; there no 
one may vote who cannot write his name and read a section 
of the Constitution and laws in the English language. Some 
States require a poll tax, varying from fifty cents to two 
dollars. Most States require a registration of the voters. 
Some of the Southern States have required certain property 
and educational qualifications as a means of preventing the 



Suffrage 
Qualifications 
in the States 



12 THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 

negroes from voting, while by "grandfather clauses" and other 
devices ignorant whites were exempted from these tests. A 
"grandfather clause" provided that all citizens and their de- 
scendants who were voters prior to 1867, when negro suffrage 
was imposed, were not required to undergo the tests. The 
"grandfather laws" virtually violate the Fifteenth Amend- 
ment, and the Supreme Court has so declared in an Oklahoma 
case (19 1 5). But these restrictions are temporary and are 
passing away. The tendency in all the States is toward a 
wide suffrage on liberal terms. 

Nearly all writers in political science hold that voting is 
not a "right" but a "privilege," and it has always been 
treated as such in practice. Whether voting is a right or a 
privilege is largely an academic question of no practical 
importance. It does not make much difference to those who 
want the privilege; they insist upon it as a right. And very 
few of those who enjoy the privilege and would deny it to 
others are willing to surrender it: they look upon it and hold 
to it as one of their most precious rights. Technically, as a 
matter of political science, suffrage is a privilege conferred 
by the State. But a "privilege" sometimes becomes a 
"right," though it is hard to tell just when, and it is 
sometimes very difficult, if not impossible, to distinguish 
between the two. As a matter of fact, all our so-called 
rights — life, liberty, property — are held at the behest 
and under the authority of the State. Without having 
committed any crime a citizen may be deprived of his 
liberty (under quarantine) or he may be set in the battle 
line against his will and be deprived of his life in the defense of 
his country. His property may at any time be taken against 
his protest under the right of eminent domain. The welfare 
of the State determines it all. So those who contend for 
suffrage as a right very reasonably insist that those who would 
deny it to qualified citizens should show that the welfare of 
the State demands its denial. 



THE AMERICAN CITIZEN: HIS RIGHTS AND DUTIES 13 



Our democratic disposition is to look upon the suffrage 
not only as a political privilege but as a personal right. It 
belongs to the personality of citizens, not to their property 
or attainments or color or sex or creed. It is like a right of 
representation, belonging to every member of the nation who 
is a perso7i. Formerly only the interests in the State were 
represented, meaning only property interests, but now we see 
that a man's interest in the State and its laws is far wider than 
his property. The poorest man in town is interested in the 
way justice is administered. The woman who sends her chil- 
dren to school may have no property she can call her own, but 
she is interested in the safety of the streets and in the sanitary 
condition of the schoolhouse. So we think of representation 
in the State as belonging to a person. A person is one who 
has a free will, who can think and act for himself. Children, 
the dependent, the demented, the insane, the idiot, the intoxi- 
cated, and convicts, — ■ these are not allowed to vote because 
they are not under their own control. The law does not hold 
them as responsible persons; the need of guardians for them 
is recognized. Their personality is lost, their power of self- 
direction. Aliens should not be allowed to vote, because 
voting involves allegiance and is an act of membership in 
the State. All the other classes named, together with those 
who are bribed or coerced in elections, are not free; their 
wills are subjected to the wills of others. Every intelligent 
member of the community who has a will of his own and who is 
free to vote as he wishes should have a vote. Ignorant people 
may be easily controlled by others, and therefore it is not 
undemocratic or unreasonable to impose an educational quali- 
fication for the suffrage. 

Within a hundred years the suffrage has been greatly 
extended in all countries where there is any semblance of 
popular rule. In England a small property qualification still 
holds, but millions of men now vote in that country whose like 
would not have been allowed to vote a hundred years ago. 



The 

Democratic 
Basis for the 
Suffrage : 
Suffrage goes 
with 
Personality 



Rule for 
determining 
who should 
vote 



Manhood 
Suffrage 



14 



THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 



The Argiiment 
for a Wide 
Suffrage 



A century ago in our States the restrictions on the suffrage 
were much more numerous than they are now. . Some States 
imposed hard property quahfications, others rehgious tests, 
so that perhaps not one person in twenty was allowed to vote. 
Now the proportion is about one in five, and in the "suffrage 
States" (where women vote) it is still larger. Under the 
growth of the democratic spirit of equal rights for all, these 
early restrictions have been removed and manhood suffrage 
has come to prevail in nearly all the States, — "one man, one 
vote." 

The argument for a wide manhood (or womanhood) suffrage 
is that voting is involved in the right of self-government; 
that it promotes patriotism and leads to an interest in public 
affairs; that it tends to remove discontent and promote a 
feeling of partnership in the State; that since civil and reli- 
gious liberty depends upon power men have no security for 
their liberty if they have no power; that the suffrage is an 
enlightening and educational agency and that only by such 
active citizenship can the political virtues be developed. 
"It is the old truth that one learns to do by doing. There 
is no other way. To teach men to do their duties to the 
State, the only finally effective plan is to give them duties 
to the State to do." ^ Much legislation is concerned with bad 
drains, adulterated food, neglect of children, ill-ventilated 
workshops, dangerous occupations, drunkenness, pauperism, 
ignorance, and other social evils. Those who suffer from 
these evils should have the power of the ballot as a means 
of remedy. Justice may not be left with the classes that 
have not suffered hardships and injustice. The State needs 
the judgment of all. 

On these democratic principles the American States have 

liberally admitted to the suffrage the foreign-born, the negroes, 

the rich and the poor, the learned and the ignorant, and all 

classes of men. The tendency now is to strike down another 

1 Maccunn, Ethics of Citizenship, pp. 8i, 103, 108. 



THE AMERICAN CITIZEN: HIS RIGHTS AND DUTIES 15 
barrier, — the distinction of sex. It seems arbitrary and Woman 

. , Suffrage 

artificial to keep from voting, merely on account of her sex, 
an intelligent person who wishes to protect her property in- 
terest or to have a voice in public affairs. The movement for 
woman suffrage has made marked progress in recent years. 
Thirteen States have now conferred the suffrage upon women, 
and other States as well as Congress for the country at large, 
have the subject under consideration.^ 

The Citizen and the Ballot 

Election bribery has been one of the greatest evils of Ameri- 
can politics. A free ballot has been called "the right pre- 
servative of all rights." If this right — the right of the 
people to honest elections — cannot be preserved, all other a Free and 

.1 T 1 1-1 r 1 r • Honest Ballot 

rights may be lost. To deprive the voter of the free expression 
of his will by bribery or intimidation is to rob him of his 
manhood and self-respect. It takes from him a power which 
has been given to him to defend not only his own rights of 
person and property but to promote the welfare of the State. 
It demoralizes and debases both the briber and the bribed. 
To prevent the freedom of elections by bribery or force is 
to strike at the very root of free popular government. To 
carry elections by bribery and the use of money is one of the 

1 An amendment to the United States Constitution giving suffrage 
to women passed the lower house of Congress in 19 18. 

The woman suffrage States, with the date of their granting the vote, 
are as follows: Wyoming (1869), Colorado (1893), Utah (1895), Idaho 
(1896), Washington (1910), California (1911), Kansas, Arizona, and 
Oregon, (1912), Montana and Nevada (1914), New York (1917). In 
1913, Illinois by statute conferred national suffrage upon women. A 
State constitutional limitation in Illinois bars them from voting for State 
ofl&cers but they may vote for municipal and township officers, as well 
as for president and members of Congress. That is, they may vote for 
candidates for offices not created by the State constitution. In 191 7 
the same kind of suffrage was conferred upon women in Ohio, and 
Michigan, and in Arkansas women were given the right to vote in party 
primaries. FuU suffrage for women throughout the country seems to be 
a question of only a short time. 



i6 



THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 



worst forms of anarchy. If elections and law-makers and 
judges are to be bought the laws will be no longer binding on 
the people. All respect for law and authority will be destroyed 
and the very foundations of the State will be undermined. 
If the rich may buy the poor, then the poor (if they have the 
power) may loot the rich, and this is anarchy. 

What would a class of boys think of a game of baseball if 
it were known that the umpire or the pitcher of one of the 
teams were bought to "give the game away"? What would 
the bleachers do? No self-respecting "fan" would watch 
such a game through; it could have no possible interest to 
anyone save the guilty traitors who had sold out the game. 
If it were known that the noble game of baseball had ceased 
to be a clean game and that umpires and pitchers were bribed 
to sell the game out, how long would the American public 
care anything about their national sport? The game would 
be broken up. Is not an election of more serious moment 
than sport? The game of politics is more vital than a game 
of ball. In elections the voters are like umpires and certainly 
the people should be as jealous of their national interests as 
they are of their national game, and just as quick to demand 
honest voting as honest playing. It seems passing strange 
that there are people yet v/ho are strict and upright in 
private business or in sport, who are loose and flabby and 
immoral when it comes to the most vital interests of the 
State. 

To prevent bribery and secure honest elections the Aus- 
tralian system of voting has been devised. This involves 
several features: 

1. All ballots are printed and distributed by public ofiicials 
at public expense. 

2. Each ballot contains the names of all candidates that 
have been nominated by any party or by petition of any 
group of citizens. The party committeeman must certify 
to the proper State ofl&cers the names on each party ticket a 



THE AMERICAN CITIZEN: HIS RIGHTS AND DUTIES 17 

certain number of days before the election, and the election 
officers must certify to the genuineness of the ballot when it is 
given to the voter on election day. This they do by indors- 
ing, or writing their names on the back of the ballot. 

3. Ballots may be obtained on election day only within 
the voting places and from the election officers. They are to 
be marked in private in the election booth; they may contain 
no distinguishing mark that might enable a voter's ballot to 
be identified when it is being counted, and it must be so folded 
as to conceal the face of the ballot when it is handed to the 
election officer to be put into the box. The essential point 
in these requirements is that the voter shall not only have the 
privilege of voting in secret but shall be required to do so. 

4. Special provision is made to prevent ballots being lost 
or stolen. No one is allowed to have a genuine ballot outside 
the election booth and all electioneering is forbidden within 
a certain distance of the polling place. Sample ballots, of 
different colors from the genuine ballots, are posted on the 
outside for the instruction of the voters. 

These provisions of the Australian system, usually accom- TheSUp 

.,, . . , , ..' .,. Ticket Method 

panied by registration laws and provisions for punishing of Voting 
bribery and other violations of the election laws, came into use 
in America about 1888, Massachusetts leading off in that year 
and Indiana and six other States following in 1889. Now 
only two States, South Carolina and Georgia, retain the old 
system of voting. Prior to 1888 slip tickets were used. The 
party managers furnished their own ballots, or candidates 
could print and distribute ballots to suit their own interests. 
Mixed tickets were printed under headings that were mis- 
leading, and a voter could hardly be sure of getting a "straight 
party ticket" when he wanted one. The bribed voter was 
accompanied to the voting window by some party worker or 
interested candidate and the exposed ballot which had been 
prepared for him was handed to the election officer. Flagrant 
bribery was common. The employers of large numbers of 



THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 



Two Kinds of 
Ballots: 
"Party 
Column " 
and " Office 
Column" 



men sought to control their voting. Party rivalry was strong, 
wealthy men had some special interest in the result of the 
election, large salaries were at stake, and all these influences led 
to the raising of large campaign funds to corrupt the ballot. 
So the State in self-defense had to protect the voter and try 
to get fair elections by some form of the secret ballot. The 
provisions of the Australian ballot have been evaded in some 
ways by lawless men and unscrupulous political tricksters, but 
it works vastly better than the old system.^ 

The "Party Column Ballot" arranges the candidates in 
parallel party columns, each party having a column. At the 
head of the column is a party emblem. In some states the 
Democratic emblem is the Rooster, the Republican emblem, 
the Eagle, the Prohibition emblem a Rising Sun, the Sociahst 
emblem a Hammer and Anvil. 

The "Office Column Ballot" arranges the candidates in 
groups under the title of the respective offices, all candi- 
dates for each office being grouped in alphabetical order in the 
same column. 

The party column ballot is favored by party managers to 
encourage "straight" voting. If a voter, using this ballot, 
wishes to vote a straight party ticket, he can do so with a 
minimum of effort by two strokes, merely making his cross- 
mark (x) within the circle containing his party emblem. He 
"votes for roosters and eagles." But if he wishes to vote a 
"mixed" or "scratched" ticket, trying to pick out the best 
men by choosing some candidates of one party and some of 
another, he must then not put his cross-mark (x) within the 
party circle containing the emblem, but he must make his 
mark in each of the little squares opposite all of the candidates 
for whom he wishes to vote. If he blots or blurs his ballot 
or gets upon it in any way any sign that may be taken for a 
"distinguishing mark," his ballot will be thrown out. So 
he takes the easiest and safest way, refuses to take the risk 

^ See Woodburn's Political Parties, and Party Problems, pp. 349-50. 



THE AMERICAN CITIZEN: HIS RIGHTS AND DUTIES 19 

of trying to "scratch," and "votes the ticket straight." This straight 
is not very intelligent voting. The ofl&ce column ballot, on the Voting 
other hand, encourages more intelligent and independent vot- 
ing by making it just as difficult to vote a straight ticket as 
a mixed ticket, since the voter must always pick out for each 
office the man for whom he wishes to vote.^ 

In some cities voting machines are used to facilitate voting. 
With these the voter, instead of making his cross marks on a 
"blanket ballot" in the booth, pulls the levers or knobs on 
a machine and thus registers his vote quickly for the candi- 
dates of his choice, and the machine at the same time registers Voting 
the total vote cast at any hour of the day for each candidate, 
so that the result of the election is known as soon as the polls 
are closed. The machines are expensive and complicated, and 
if they get out of order the voting may be seriously blocked. 

When a voter comes to his polHng place to vote, he must 
pass the challengers and the election sheriffs. The challengers 
are party agents who stand at the polHng place all day to pre- 
vent fraudulent or illegal voters of the other party from voting. 
They are paid out of a party fund. If a voter is challenged 
he has to "swear in" his ballot or make affidavit that he is ^"^ *° v'ot© 
a legal voter. The sheriffs are public officers, appointed to 
preserve order at the polls and to arrest offenders. They are 
often appointed through party influence and are under the 
direction of the Judge of the Election board, who is usually a 
partisan official, though he ought not to be. After passing the 
challengers and election sheriffs the voter comes into the room 
of the election board; he gives his name and address, and if 
they are found in the registration books he is given a ballot. 
He then goes into a booth and marks his ballot for the party 
or men of his choice. If he spoils his ballot he may be given 
another. The ballot is then folded and handed to an election 
official, who places it in the proper "ballot box." The polls 
are closed at an hour fixed by law and the votes are counted. 

^ For the reform proposed by the short ballot, see pp. 45 and 46. 



20 



THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 



The Citizen and the Party 



Independence 
vs. Party 
Allegiance 



What should be the attitude of a citizen towards his party? 
Should he give his party unfaltering allegiance? Or should 
he recognize no party relation or obligation whatever, merely 
voting in his own independent way, regardless of all party 
claims? It is obvious that no fixed rule can be laid down 
for citizens to act by in this matter. A citizen's relation 
to his party will depend much upon the habit and character 
of his mind. Some men are naturally more partisan, some 
naturally more independent than others. Patriotism and good 
citizenship may be consistent with both attitudes, with that 
of the partisan or that of the independent. It is safest to 
avoid an extreme attitude either way; the better citizen- 
ship may be found in the golden mean. Since parties are the 
agencies by which we are governed (see pp. 218-233), it would 
seem that if a man wishes to make his weight tell and to 
count for much in politics and public affairs and really take 
part in his own government he should belong to a party and 
use all his influence for good government within his party. 
If he does not do so he will then be reduced merely to a 
choice between what other men arrange for him. 

On the other hand, some men, either from their positions 
or dispositions, feel that they cannot cooperate actively with, 
or pledge their fealty to, any party. They wish to acknowl- 
edge no party ties, but to act as judicial umpires between par- 
ties, voting as readily with one party as with another, as they 
think the interests of the country may demand. They wish 
to stand in the middle of the "see-saw," giving the tilt first 
to one side, then to the other. These independent voters have 
been called "Mugwumps," a nickname that was applied to 
them in 1884. 

To which of these two classes a citizen should belong, every 
man must determine for himself. He must define for himself 
the limits of his party loyalty. Some men act independent 



THE AMERICAN CITIZEN: HIS RIGHTS AND DUTIES 21 

of parties from good motives, some from bad motives; some 
from public interests, some from selfish and personal interests. 
If we recognize the party as a beneficial agency in popular 
government, whether "bolting" and opposing the party is 
ever justifiable depends altogether upon the reasons that are 
offered. It is obvious, whatever the reasons, that some men 
will approve the bolting and some will condemn it. If the 
reasons for bolting one's party are trivial, petty, selfish, ignoble, 
the bolter will be condemned; if his reasons are good and 
sufficient he will be approved. Who is to judge the reasons 
that are given? Manifestly, every citizen must answer for 
himself to his own conscience and judgment. According to 
the reasons that he gives, according to the judgment where- 
with he judges, shall he be judged. 

It is evident that parties are becoming more amenable a Growing 

^ . . * Spirit of 

to popular control, to the opinion of the "rank and file." independence 
Large and growing numbers of our citizens are disposed to 
assert their independence of party control. Party managers 
and hide-bound partisans are disposed to look upon a party 
as a disciplined army, whose voters are expected to act like 
machines or unthinking soldiers and vote at the word of 
command. Many thousands of voters are no longer willing 
to be managed or "bossed" on this principle. It should be 
understood that a party exists for its voters, not for its mana- 
gers. The party is not an end in itself; it is a means to 
secure the common ends that its voters have in view. It is 
not merely an organization for carrying elections and getting 
offices for the party workers. The party should stand for 
principles and for policies in harmony with these principles. 
When it ceases to do that it has no claim on any citizen's 
support or allegiance. It cannot exact pledges to obey some- 
one's orders to follow an unknown course. Party men may 
well recognize the usefulness of parties and, believing in their 
own principles, they may wisely adopt the party means of 
reducing these principles into practice; but with the spirit 



22 THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 

of true independence they hold their poHtical independence 
above party success or party interests, and they will follow 
their convictions and their sense of the public welfare against 
the crooked work or the temporary decisions of the party 
organization. No young man or woman should allow a 
party to commit him or her to a course which is deemed dan- 
gerous to the interests of his city, his State, or his country. 

"Let it be known that you are interested in the success of 
the party. Asking nothing for yourself, take a hand in shaping 
the party policy and making nominations, being guided by 
public interests rather than personal ones. If, against your 
protests, they make bad nominations, bolt them and return to 
the charge . Keep standing up for men and things that are 
honest and of good report." ^ 

"Party is always to be subordinated to patriotism. . . , 
When you are angrily told that if you erect your personal whim 
against the regular party behest you make representative gov- 
ernment impossible by refusing to accept its conditions, hold 
fast by your conscience and let the party go."^ 

Some Obligations of the Citizen 

The citizen's duty as a juryman, while not so frequent or 
constant, is sometimes more important than his duty as a 
voter. The Jury in the court are the twelve men selected 
according to law who are sworn to hear the evidence in a case 
and to bring in a true verdict according to the evidence laid 
before them. This is the petit jury or trial jury. The grand 
jury, consisting of other men appointed by the Judge or Jury 
Commissioners, investigates wrong doing or alleged crime and 
brings into court an indictment against the accused if the 
evidence is thought to justify an arrest and trial. 

1 Washington Gladden, Century Magazine, vol. vi. 
^ George William Curtis, Orations. 

See also the chapter on Civic Publicity and the Voter in A. D. Weeks's The 
Psychology of Citizenship in the National Social Science Series (191 7). 



THE AMERICAN CITIZEN: HIS RIGHTS AND DUTIES 23 

Jury service is sometimes a hard and disagreeable duty and 
most busy men shrink from it, making all sorts of excuses in 
order to get off. Inferior men who are willing to take a two- 
dollar-a-day sitting job, are about the court houses ready to 
do the work and the consequence is we have our "professional 
jurymen," whose verdicts are unsafe and unreliable and 
who are sometimes "tampered with" through the influence or 
bribery of interested parties. 

All citizens are liable to be summoned for jury duty, and if 
the most competent men are to be excused the juries will be 
made up in large part of those less fit to perform intelligent 
and honest jury service. If justice is not done in court, the 
law is a failure and the law-abiding habit is undermined. If 
honest men will not help to administer justice their places will 
be taken by those much less desirable. A civic investigation 
committee in a large city spoke recently as follows: "No child 
should be permitted to leave the grammar school until he has 
had thoroughly instilled into him the strong sense of his 
obligation to the State to set aside all prejudice and private 
interest and act as juryman in any case in which he may be 
summoned. He should be taught that this obligation is sacred, 
and that its performance is the highest kind of public service." 

Universal service for military duty may also be an ideal 
of citizenship. In time of need the individual citizen is to 
sacrifice himself for the good of the whole community. To 
determine when the need exists and what the extent of the 
sacrifice shall be lies not with the citizen himself but with the 
community or the State or organized society. No one con- 
tends that taxes should be voluntary; that each citizen shall 
be allowed to decide for himself whether he shall pay or when '^^^ citizen 

, . , 1 and Military 

and how much. Taxes are determined for him by the law of service 
the land. They are to be imposed on all alike, according to 
some fair rule. If paying to support the State is compulsory, 
so should service be. All should bear the burdens and meet the 
needs of the nation alike, the willing and the unwilling, the 



24 



THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 



patriotic, and the unpatriotic. In time of national need, 
of emergency and war, all should be in service and under 
direction, some doing one thing, some another; some in com- 
mand, others under obedience. This is in harmony with 
democratic equality, that there should be no favors, no 
exemptions, no excuses, no slacking or shirking; but that 
all alike, high and low, "prince and peasant, plutocrat and 
pauper, shall serve their country together side by side, wearing 
the same uniform, submitting to the same discipline, showing 
the same triumphs or dying the same death." ^ It is this 
spirit that will unify us and make us a nation. 



Power or Public Opinion 

Public opinion, or public sentiment, is the chief factor in 
the enforcement, or non-enforcement, of law. One of the 
greatest evils in American life is the deplorable lack of effi- 
cient, vigorous, and constant law enforcement. America holds 
rather a unique position among nations in this respect. There 
were ninety-six lynchings in America in ioi4- Ours is the 
only civilized country on the globe in which men are burnt 
alive by lawless and fiendish lynchers. Of course, to the ex- 
tent that such savage and horrible practices are tolerated, we 
are not civilized, but barbarous. The community which 
practices or condones such lawless and public murders de- 
grades itself and brings a reproach upon the State. It is 
difficult in America to execute a murderer according to law, 
but men may be put to death in every other conceivable 
way, by all kinds of homicides, by the so-called "unwritten 
law," by criminal negligence, by reckless driving on the streets, 
by avoidable fires- and accidents, by awful steamship disas- 
ters, by carrying deadly weapons, by saloon brawls and drunk- 
enness, and in other ways. Most of these things come from 
lack of law enforcement. It frequently happens that when a 

1 The American Democratic Ideal, by Brooks Adams in the Yale 
Review for January, 1916. 



THE AMERICAN CITIZEN: HIS RIGHTS AND DUTIES 2^ 



guilty murderer has been convicted and executed a sickly 
and maudlin sentiment in the community seeks to make 
a "hero" out of him and thousands of people begin to con- 
demn the officers of the law for his execution. This leads to 
a loss of respect for all law. Whether capital punishment 
should be inflicted by the State is a debatable question. A 
growing public sentiment is coming to oppose it. But this 
has no bearing on the matter of our respect for the law and 
its enforcement. 

There are easy habits of mind among Americans toward the 
crimes of bribery and political corruption. One of the saddest 
things in our civic life is to find men who are looked upon as 
decent, law-abiding, intelligent citizens, condoning vote-buying 
or bribe-giving to legislators or city councilmen and deplor- 
ing and opposing the indictment and prosecution of the wrong- 
doers. Commercial and political bribe-givers commit the 
most serious of crimes. They corrupt public officials, a crime 
which tends to undermine the very foundations of the State, 
leading to the ultimate destruction of democracy. These "re- 
spectables" in the community, instead of rising in righteous 
wrath against graft, bribery, and political rottenness, begin 
to criticise and condemn the prosecution of the wrong. So 
the criminal is made to feel that public sentiment does not 
condemn him, that a jury will acquit him, and that he can 
commit such crimes with impunity. If that is to become our 
common civic spirit then "we must bid farewell to civic 
virtue and in time bid farewell to republican institutions 
and civic liberty." ^ 

One of the prime causes of this lack of respect for law comes 
from the law's delay. The procedure of our courts is clumsy, 
technical, and slow. Cases are dragged out to an intolerable 
length, — especially if one side has money by which it can 
"stave off " a decision until pubUc sentiment cools off. Shrewd 
lawyers are able, by means of postponements, new trials, 

^ See Civic Progress and Reaction in the West, Outlook, August 4, 1915. 



Lack of 
Respect 
for Law 



The Delay In 
the Courts 



26 



THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 



appeals to a higher court, and other delays, to prevent a final 
decision almost indefinitely. A murderer or briber may 
be under trial years after his deed was committed and has 
almost been forgotten, and when pubUc attention is attracted 
by other murders and other crimes. Court procedure is comph- 
cated and technical. Technicalities are constantly made use 
of to avoid conviction. A short time ago in Missouri a case 
was thrown out of court because a copyist had accidentally 
omitted the word "the" from a document. The meaning 
of the document was perfectly plain, but it was technically 
incomplete. Such legal decisions do not appeal to the common 
sense of the average man. We are far behind Great Britain 
in the matter of legal procedure, and leaders of the bar are 
urging reform, which may be brought about before the lapse 
of many years, — that "justice be done speedily and without 
delay," as was promised in the Magna Charta several hundred 
years ago. Above all, the length of the case should not be in 
proportion to the length of the purse of one of the litigants, 
A poor man cannot stand the law's delays; a rich man may 
be better able to do so. 



The Citizen and the Community 

It was Patrick Henry who said, " Eternal vigilance is the 
price of Uberty." It is, also, the price of good government. The 
government of any community always depends upon the moral 
quality of its citizens. Mr. Bryce has named three obstacles 
to good citizenship: (i) Indolence or apathy on the part 
of the voter; (2) excess of party spirit; (3) the tendency of 
the average citizen to place self-interest before the public 
interest. A community which elects incompetent and un- 
trustworthy officials and is indifferent to the kind of govern- 
ment it gets, is very certain to get bad government. "If you 
elect a rogue to represent you he will represent you." The 
machinery of government will not count for much; it all 
depends upon the men in charge. Capable and upright men 



THE AMERICAN CITIZEN: HIS RIGHTS AND DUTIES 27 

with bad machinery may get good results, while bad men with 
good machinery will always produce bad results. An intel- 
ligent and alert public opinion is the chief reliance. Our 
government is what its citizens make it. Bad laws or the 
failures of good laws are but the work of bad men, or their 
triumph over the good. So the moral sense of the citizen 
and the moral life of the community needs constant cultivation 
and activity. Officers, prosecutors, judges, and juries will not 
convict people of crime for doing the things that are the 
community habit and practice. 

To develop this community life, to make it worthy and 
progressive, the citizen needs public spirit. This public 
spirit will help him to overcome indolence and lift him above 
party and above himself and above his own private affairs. P"bi>c Spirit 
We hear much of patriotism, and we are led to think of the patriotism 
patriot only as a brave soldier who is fighting or dying on the 
battle field. But patriotism is only another name for public 
spirit. The patriot may be ready to go to war, and on the 
field of battle he may pay the "last full measure of the 
patriot's devotion." The true patriot will not only defend his 
rights but he will fulfil his duties. His patriotism will assert 
itself not only in times of excitement, in a crisis or in an 
emergency, but in the everyday duties of civic life. To 
obey the laws and keep out of jail and out of the hands of the 
law officers, to pay one's taxes because he is compelled to, 
this is a low measure of patriotism. The true patriot in the 
community will stand ready to contribute time and money to 
the public good. He will strive to have the taxes justly levied 
and honestly expended; he will strive for better roads, cleaner 
streets, better sanitary regulations, better schools, a better 
enforcement of the law. He will look upon public office as a 
public trust, to be sought not for its pay but as an opportunity 
for public service. He will seek to know something of the 
institutions of his country and their workings, of the needs of 
his community and their management, of the laws and their 



28 



THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 



Civic 

Activities and 
a Community 
Sense 



Civic Spirit 
in tlie Young 



requirement, of public officers and their duties. The good 
citizen will seek to place his country's interest and his com- 
munity's interest above party or class or sectional or selfish 
interest, and he will be willing to take trouble or even tedious 
pains for the well governing of the country and the community 
in which he lives. 

With this civic spirit the citizen will seek to promote the 
progress and improvement of his community in all its varied 
activities. A good social spirit will be cultivated, and all 
social forces will be strengthened which make for the better 
life of the community. All the agencies for public education 
in health, morals, recreations, and vocations will be encouraged. 
Parents, homes, churches, clubs, commercial bodies, the school 
children, will all cooperate to help develop a community 
sense, a community understanding, and a community will. 
The policeman will come to be looked upon as our represen- 
tative not merely to keep order by arresting offenders and 
to keep the small boys in the neighborhood under restraint; 
but he will catch the spirit of social advance and be our leader 
in social self-control and community self-respect. 

As an illustration of the new civic spirit, attention may be 
called to the organizations of the Boy Scouts, the Boy Citizens, 
the Boy Police, by which young boys are coming to learn 
good citizenship by actual practice of it and by seeing the need 
of public spirit in the actual life of the city. Boy Citizens 
and Boy Police have been organized and have loyally given 
this worthy pledge: 

*'I promise on my honor, 

"i. To do my duty to God and my country and to obey 
the law. 

" 2. To be honest, to be trustworthy, to be loyal, to be help- 
ful, to be polite, to be obedient, to be brave. 

'*3. To do what I can to prevent swearing and vulgar lan- 
guage in public streets and public places. 



THE AMERICAN CITIZEN: HIS RIGHTS AND DUTIES 29 

"4. To prevent boys from breaking windows and street 
lamps and from defacing buildings and sidewalks with chalk. 

''5. To prevent boys from smoking cigarettes and playing 
crap. 

'%. To prevent boys from engaging in dangerous or un- 
lawful playing. 

"7. To prevent persons from placing encumbrances or ob- 
structions on fire escapes. 

"8. To prevent the mixing of ashes, garbage, and paper. 
To see that garbage cans are kept covered, that ash and 
garbage cans are promptly removed from the streets when they 
have been emptied, and especially to do this at our own homes. 

"9. To request persons to keep the sidewalk and area way 
in front of their buildings clean and not to throw refuse into 
the street." 

This is the finest training of young boys for citizenship. 
All the children in our public schools are citizens. They are 
"not merely going to be citizens, they are citizens now," 
with rights, privileges and duties of citizens. It is their 
duty to show their sense of citizenship and to manifest their 
interest in and contribute their part toward good government, 
good laws, and good order. They are under obligations to 
keep secure these blessings in the home, in the school, in the 
community. 

There is no better place to teach a boy to be straight and 
honorable than on the playground with his comrades. There 
he may learn the true spirit of the game which he will need 
for good citizenship in after years, — not by instruction and 
precept and preaching but by the commiunity spirit and the 
life of the game. He expects no one to cheat him, and the 
"whole bunch" will be down on the boy who does not play 
fair. So "he will establish standards of conduct which we 
must maintain in the community and particularly in our great 
cities. If there is one thing that we need more than another 



30 THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 

it is the constant emphasis among our citizens of that spirit 
of fair play, that willingness to give and take, that generosity 
in defeat and that lack of assertiveness in victory which we 
identify with true sport, and which is learned best of all in 
childhood upon the playground." ^ 

TOPICS AND QUERIES 

1. Why should America not tolerate "hyphenated citizens" and "double 

allegiance"? 

2. Debate: "Resolved that no State should be allowed to admit 

aliens to the suffrage before their naturalization is completed." 
What States do so? 

3. Do not the citizens of the United States owe a double allegiance 

to the State and to the United States? Have these allegiances 
ever come into conflict? Which is paramount? Why? Which 
came first historically? 

4. Debate: "Resolved that the Nation rather than the States should 

determine who should be voters." How did the States get this 
power? 

5. Debates: (i) "Resolved that the suffrage should be extended to 

women throughout the United States." (2) "Resolved that the 
suffrage should be restricted rather than extended." (3) "Resolved 
that voting should be compulsory." 

6. Which is the more important, the citizen's duty to obey the State 

or the State's duty to protect the citizen? 

7. Show that the "office column" ballot is better than the "party 

column" ballot. 

8. How may a good civic spirit be cultivated on the playground? 

9. What agencies and influences can you name for promoting better 

citizenship? 

REFERENCES 

Addams, Jane. Democracy and Social Ethics. 

Beard, C. A. American Government and Politics, pp. 160-163, " Citizen- 
ship and Suffrage," pp. 458-487, " Popular Control in State Govern- 
ment." 

Beard, C. A. Readings, Chap. XXIII, Arguments for and against the 
Initiative and Referendum, "Educating Voters in Oregon."" 

Bryce, James. American Commonwealth, Vol. II, pp. 111-175, "Rings 
and Bosses," "Spoils," "Elections," "Corruption." 

Fuller, Robert H. Government by the People, Chaps. II, III, VI, VIII, 
" Voters and Bribery." 

^ Ex- Justice Hughes of the United States Supreme Court. 



THE AMERICAN CITIZEN: HIS RIGHTS AND DUTIES 31 

Jenks, J. W. Prmciples of Politics, Chaps. II, III, "Political Motives," 

"The Suffrage"; Chap. IV, "Political Parties, Civic Life in 

Relation to." 
Jones, Chester L. Readings on Parties and Elections, pp. 212-250, 

"On the Ballot"; pp. 251-354; "Problems and Remedies." 
Maccunn, John. Ethics of Citizenship, Chap. Ill, "Rights of Man"; 

Chap. IV, "Citizenship"; Chap. VIII, "Democracy and Character." 
Morgan, Thomas J. Patriotic Citizenship, 273-300, "Citizenship: 

Its Duties and Privileges." 
Ray, P. O. Introduction to Political Parties and Practical Politics, 

pp. 231-272, "Suffrage and Election Laws." See ample references 

to periodical literature in this volume. 
Roosevelt, Theodore. Essays on Practical Politics. 
Thompson, Daniel G. Politics in a Democracy. 
Woodburn, James A. Political Parties and Party Problems in the 

United States, pp. 321-378, "Political Morality," "Honest Ballot," 

"Rings and Bosses." 



CHAPTER II 

PRESENT DAY PROBLEMS IN A DEMOCRACY 

New Conditions Bring New Problems in 
Government 

Government is a changing thing. Its principles of justice, 
equity, order, fair play, and equal rights for all do not change. 
Truth and righteousness abide, but the methods and means, 
the instruments and institutions and policies of government 
by which truth and justice and righteousness are obtained, 
must change from age to age. Men must adapt themselves 
to the changed and changing circumstances of their lives 
not only in material things but in government. 

The changes in the life of mankind and among the American 
people since 1787 have been so many and so marvelous that it 
may be almost said that we are living in a different world. 
Judged by the circumstances of his life and the progress 
of the world, George Washington lived more nearly in the 
tirnes of Abraham than in those of today. Washington never 
saw an automobile, or a trolley car, or a railroad, or a tele- 
phone, or a telegraph, or a steamship, or a writing machine, 
or a mowing machine, or a voting machine, or a threshing 
machine, or a sewing machine, or a great city, or a great 
factory, or a great printing press, or an elevator, an asphalt 
street or a macadamized road, or a public school, or an 
electric light, or a lucifer match, or a gas jet, or a gas 
range, or a two-cent stamp. All these things have changed 
the face of the world and the way men live. Is it not to be 
expected that they should change also the ways and means 
by which men are governed? 

32 



PRESENT DAY PROBLEMS IN A DEMOCRACY 33 

In 1787 the thirteen little commonwealths that fringed the 
Atlantic, east of the Alleghanies, had about four million people, 




A diagram showing the increase of population in the United States since 
1790. Since the 1910 census the population has now reached over no 
millions. 

and most men seriously doubted whether a single republic 
could endure for any length of time over so vast a stretch of ter- 
ritory as from Massachusetts to Georgia. In 1918 a united 



34 



THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 



Primitive 
Social 
Conditions 
compared with 
Modem 
Complex Life 



republic of forty-eight states from the Atlantic to the Pacific 
governs more than one hundred millions of people. The rail- 
road, the telegraph, the telephone, the post oflB.ce, unite them 
in business interests, and enable one government to bind them 
together as a nation. While Washington hoped and worked for 
a firm and lasting union, he looked forward to nothing like this. 
Then nearly all the people lived in the country, without good 
roads or good schools or adequate means of travel and com- 
munication. Now nearly half the people Uve in cities, with 
quick communication and highly organized trade and indus- 
try, under "sky scrapers" and amid great mills and factories 
and stores. 

The country is big, business is big, our enterprises are big, 
our problems are big, and the government must be ready for 
big things such as the men of 1787 could not have dreamed 
of. With our land reaching at that time only to the Missis- 
sippi, Jeflferson thought there would be enough for the people 
for a thousand years to come, and Fisher Ames said that it 
would take ages to settle it and only the Lord knew how 
it could ever be governed! Could anything be more absurd 
than to think that even the wisest men in the world in 
those simple and primitive times could lay down a fixed and 
rigid constitution to govern a growing nation for even a 
century to come? The constitution had to be changed and 
enlarged by liberal construction and by new standards and 
understandings, to enable the nation to meet new conditions 
and unforeseen problems. Otherwise it would have broken 
down as the Old Confederation did. As new needs arise or 
new evils appear our minds cast about for new plans or devices 
to meet the call of the times. It is common sense to do things 
in the best way and the Constitution was designed to promote 
and not to prevent the best methods in government. 

As we see one of our great and efiB.cient threshing machines 
we smile when we hear that somewhere in Asia men are 
still threshing wheat in the same old way of two thousand 



PRESENT DAY PROBLEMS IN A DEMOCRACY 35 

years ago, beating out the grain with the flail and throwing it New 
into the air that the wind may separate the chaff from the ^^ Me^^s of 
wheat. We think how unprogressive men are who consent GoTermnerit 
to live in that way. We should be just as ready to adopt ^^ ^^^^ 
(and adapt ourselves to) new methods and forms and in- Machinery 
ventions in government, if they can be proved to be better 
than the old. This would be quite in harmony and not at all 
contrary to the conduct and principles of the fathers. They 
overthrew the government of the King when they found that 
government was against their best interests. For a while 
they tried the experiment of the Confederation, but when it 
proved a failure they overthrew it and set up a new Consti- 
tution although they encountered such opposition that they 
were almost unable to bring about the change. 

Men do not invest much in machines until they have been 
tested and tried out. They experiment with a new machine 
to find out whether it will work, or whether it is really 
useful. If the machine "makes good," sensible men will 
buy it and use it. They will not hold on to old ways merely 
because they are old nor reject new things merely because 
they are new. Wise men are open minded and seek to 
learn about new things. It is just so in government. Men 
experiment in government just as they do in mechanics. It 
may cost something, but there is no other way of making 
any progress. If a law or an institution or a constitution 
works badly it must be abandoned; if a new proposal in 
government works well it should be adopted. This is the 
old American Anglo-Saxon historical method of making 
progress in government which the world has witnessed 
for two thousand years. A self-governing people are not 
to be bound down by fixed rules of action for all time, but they 
must be free to apply at will this particular remedy for this 
particular evil. 

Our Federal system of government in America is especially 
well adapted to experiments. Our States have been called 



36 



THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 



"political experiment stations," because a political proposal 
may be tried out in a State while other States look on, and if it 
works well they may adopt it, while if it works badly no great 
harm is done except to the one small community and that not 
for long. Maine and Kansas try prohibition of the liquor 
traffic; Oklahoma the guarantee of bank deposits by the State; 
and the other States watch the result and reject or adopt the 
experiment accordingly. Oregon has taken the lead in recent 
years as a "political experiment station" in America. What is 
known as the "Oregon system" includes direct legislation by 
the Initiative and Referendum, the Recall, the direct primary 
for nominating officers under the Australian ballot, a corrupt 
practices act, home rule for cities and a scheme for the popular 
election of United States Senators used before the adoption 
of the Seventeenth Amendment (see Appendix). These are 
experiments in radical democracy and the feature of direct 
legislation is to a large extent the substitution of direct demo- 
cratic government for republican representative government. 



The Initiative and the Referendum 

The Oregon experiment that attracted the most attention 
and which has been adopted by several other States is the 
Initiative and Referendum. The Initiative and Referendum 
go together in one system. The system is not new in Oregon. 
In Switzerland, the land of its origin and the most democratic 
country in Europe, it is an old and well-established institution. 
It provides a method or process by which laws may be made, 
or prevented, directly by the people themselves, — that is, 
direct legislation by a vote of the people instead of indirect 
legislation by the representatives of the people in the legis- 
lature. For this reason the system is denounced as over- 
throwing "representative government." It is an approach 
toward pure democracy by which the people govern themselves. 

The Initiative and Referendum are designed as a check or 
remedy for the evils and shortcomings of legislatures, — to 



PRESENT DAY PROBLEMS IN A DEMOCRACY 37 



Referendum 



push forward reforms which the people want and to prevent the 
enactment of laws which they do not want. In early days Causes for the 
the people reposed nearly all power and responsibility in initiative and 
representative legislatures. The governors were given very 
little power. The people trusted to responsible, well-trained, 
and able leaders, — Washington, Hamilton, Jefferson, Madison, 
and others, in State and national councils. As legislative 
abuses arose and representative assemblies made or prevented 
laws really contrary to the will of the people, the people lost 
confidence in their legislative bodies. They gave the governors 
the veto power to check the legislature, and Jackson, as a 
"tribune of the people," enlarged the presidential veto to 
prevent Congress from doing what he was convinced the people 
did not want done. As the people have become more capable 
of making decisions they have sought to take it upon them- 
selves to say what their legislatures shall or shall not do. 
It has been this spirit and growth in democracy that have 
given rise to the Initiative and Referendum. It comes from 
a trust in the instinct and common sense and conscience of 
the whole people. 

By the Initiative the people may propose, or initiate laws 
and have them submitted to the voters for acceptance or 
rejection. If a sufficient number of the voters petition the 
legislature to submit to the people a law, or policy, that body 
has no option in the matter.^ This petition becomes a lawful 
demand, an "imperative mandate," a term used to express the 
compulsion by which the legislature acts, by which the legis- 
lature is bound to let the people decide whether they will 
have such a law. Thus the legislature is prevented from post- 
poning or defeating a measure which the people may want. 

By the Referendum (meaning it must he referred) before a bill 
may become a law the legislature is bound, if a sufficient num- 



How the 
System works 



' In Oregon only eight per cent of the legal voters are required for 
an Initiative petition and OTa\y five per cent are required for a Referen- 
dum petition. 



38 THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 

ber of the voters petition for it, to submit the measure to the 
voters to see whether or not they approve. If they approve, 
the measure becomes a law; if not, it is defeated. Thus 
the legislature is prevented from enacting laws which the 
people do not want. 

The advocates of these reforms say that it is not "rep- 
resentative government" which they oppose, but "mis-repre- 
sentative government"; that legislatures often abuse their 
trust; that they represent powerful moneyed interests in- 
stead of the people; that bribery operates and the "lobby" 
controls. So they advocate the Initiative and Referendum 
in order that the people may control their legislatures, and 
(by the Initiative) compel them to do what the people want 
and (by the Referendum) to prevent their doing what the 
people do not want. 

Under the Initiative and Referendum the drafting of bills 
is attended to by expert legal officers. The people merely 
vote upon the broad policy, as for instance, "Will you 
have woman suffrage?" "Will you establish more normal 
schools?" "Will you prohibit the Uquor traffic?" "Will 
you have local option?" "Will you try the single tax?" etc. 
In Oregon as many as thirty proposed laws have been 
accepted by the people at general elections within • the last 
few years and many more have been rejected. 

The Referendum may be optional or compulsory. State- 
wide or local. The constitution of a State may leave its use 
to the option of the legislature or it may make it compulsory 
Old Fonns jj^ q^ legislation of general public interest and on certain 
Referendum local matters. Certain forms of the Referendum have existed 
for a long time in many of the States. Constitutions and 
constitutional amendments have usually been adopted by the 
Referendum. Local option elections, — voting a county or 
city "wet" or "dry," — ^ locating county seats, and deciding 
whether a town shall become an incorporated city, are other 
old forms of the Referendum. Subsidies for new railroads 



I 



PRESENT DAY PROBLEMS IN A DEMOCRACY 39 

and taxes for bridges, school houses and other public improve- 
ments may also be decided in this way in some of the States. 

Advantages Claimed for the Initiative and Referendum 

The advantages urged by the advocates of this method of 
direct legislation may be briefly mentioned: 

1. It brings power directly to the people who may be more 
safely trusted than the legislatures. 

2. It is a good means of political education. The people 
are aroused to take an interest in politics and government. 
Public arguments and appeals are made for and against a 
measure; school house meetings and debates are held, with 
able speakers on each side; editors and clubs discuss the 
question. So the people are aroused and led to consider their 
public interests and to think of measures, principles, and 
policies and not merely of the interest and success of cer- 
tain candidates. 

In Oregon the State prints a public pamphlet containing a 
statement of the proposed measure in which its advocates 
and opponents have a right to insert a brief argument not to 
exceed, say, two thousand words. Those who insert the 
argument must pay for the actual cost of paper and printing. 
A copy of this pamphlet is sent at public expense to every 
registered voter of the State not later than fifty-five days before 
the general election and twenty days before any special election. 
That would be a much greater task in a very populous State. 

Objections to the Initiative and Referendum 

Several objections are urged to the Initiative and Refer- 
endum. The objectors urge the following: 

I. The system abandons the representative republican 
form of government which our fathers established. A test 
case was brought before the Supreme Court in an effort to 



40 THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 

show that the Initiative and Referendum in Oregon violated 
the constitutional guarantee of a republican form of govern- 
ment which the United States is bound to safeguard in every 
state, but the Supreme Court held this contention to be 
unsound.^ 

2. The people will constantly be kept voting upon measures. 
Busy men or women cannot afford the time. Only professional 
agitators and cranks, say the opponents of the system, can give 
up the time required to attend to the necessary petitioning, 
arguing, and voting. 

3. So many questions are submitted at once that the 
people cannot vote intelligently. National politics and the 
personal interests of candidates divert the people's attention. 

Can the People The people are more interested in men than in measures, and 
tions intei-^' while they will come out and vote for their friends or some 
ligentiy? leader whom they admire, they will neglect important policies 

or have no concern for them. How can the people, it is 
asked, be "educated" on so many questions at once or be ex- 
pected to vote intelligently upon questions, many of them tech- 
nical and abstruse, where expert knowledge is needed? They 
will be confused by the conflicting arguments, and in conse- 
quence will vote in large numbers in the affirmative regardless 
of the merits of the measures. 

The experience in Oregon does not seem wholly to sustain 
this view. The people there have repeatedly rejected a policy, 
like woman suffrage, and then upon reconsideration have 
adopted it. They have not appeared to act rashly or rapidly, 
and are not so radical as some of their leaders. In 1914 at 
the general fall election twenty-nine measures were referred 
to the people, including such radical proposals as the single 
tax, the abolition of the State sena-te and of capital punish- 
ment. State-wide prohibition, an eight-hour day, the problem 
of unemployment, a non-partisan judiciary, municipal wharfs 

1 Pacific States Telephone and Telegraph Co. vs. Oregon, February, 
1912. 



PRESENT DAY PROBLEMS IN A DEMOCRACY 41 

and docks, and proportional representation. Only four 
measures passed. The people vetoed the other twenty-five. 
Experience goes to show that the people when in doubt vote 
No. They must be convinced. 

4. The system disregards the old American idea of the 
separation of the powers. It disregards or denies the execu- 
tive veto and the function of the judiciary to act as the supreme 
interpreter of the Constitution and to imllify statutes as 
unconstitutional. It thus practically substitutes an unwritten 
for a written constitution and allows the people to change their 
fundamental law as easily as the statute law. This is too 
democratic, the critics say. 

If the courts should declare "unconstitutional" an act 
passed by the people under the Initiative and Referendum 
because repugnant to the "higher law" of the Constitution, 
this higher law can be very easily referred and repealed; the 
Constitution can be amended as easily as a law can be passed. 
The conservatives say this is too easy and that the courts 
must not be interfered with in interpreting the Constitution ^^^ ConsH- 

. . . tutlons be too 

and laymg down the law. The radical democrats insist that easily changed? 

a distinction should be made between adjudication and judicial 

law-making. In a suit at law between two individuals the 

court must not be interfered with by popular clamor or any 

popular action, but when a court assumes to set aside a popular 

policy which the people have enacted into law, then the 

power of the people shall be allowed to assert itself directly 

over their constitution to say what it shall or shall not permit. 

The people should have control over their policy-determining 

officers, and while judges in America exercise the power of 

determining or interfering with public policy they must 

expect to have their power brought directly under popular 

control (see p. 44). Does experience go to show that the 

people are disposed to be conservative rather than radical 

in changing their constitutions? 

5. It is urged that direct legislation tends to lessen the 



42 



THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 



dignity and responsibility of legislative bodies. Men of ability 
and self-respect will not care to become members of a body 
whose duties are merely clerical and perfunctory, to register 
decisions made elsewhere. Also, it is urged, the governors 
are reduced in responsibility and importance and real leader- 
ship is prevented. The advocates of the Initiative and 
Referendum see the force of this. They recognize the vital 
need of leadership in a democracy; they see that the people 
cannot act except under some guidance or direction, under 




Direct Democracy 
The white States are those which have the Initiative and Referendum. 



some organized capable leadership. They claim there is no 
essential conflict between leadership and popular rule, between 
representative government and direct democracy, and that the 
Initiative and Referendum are not for constant use, but only 
as emergency checks and emergency remedies, to be employed 
by the people in times of need. They have been compared to 
the poHceman's club or the gun behind the door, for use 
only when needed. The Initiative and Referendum are not to 



PRESENT DAY PROBLEMS IN A DEMOCRACY 43 

take the place of ordinary legislative bodies, but to be used 
merely as alternative and additional means of legislating. 
It is true that amending and perfecting a law can be much 
better attended to while it is under criticism in a legislative 
body. There it can be "whipped into shape" after debate, 
but the advocates of the Initiative and Referendum claim 
that this can be done under that system. 

6. It is urged that the Initiative and Referendum may 
easily be used for foolish and frivolous purposes. A few 
people can put the State to the trouble and expense of an 
election. Getting signatures to a referendum petition becomes 
a trade. Canvassers, it is said, agree to get signers to a peti- 
tion for almost any bill for five or ten cents a name. This 
abuse has not been serious and the friends of the reform assert 
that when such fake canvassing has occurred it has been done 
by enemies of the Initiative and Referendum to make direct 
legislation ridiculous. 

In spite of all these objections the plan of direct legislation 
has not been abandoned in any of the States that have adopted 
it in full or in part. (See map on opposite page for the 
States in which it is in operation.) 

The Recall 

Closely associated with the Initiative and Referendum 
is the Recall. This enables the people, after the lapse of a 
specified time, to "recall," or displace, an officer of whose acts 
they do not approve. In Boston, for example, the term of Should officers 

. ^ be removed 

office of the mayor is four years, but he may be recalled by more easUy? 

the vote of the people at any time after he has served two 

years. 

In 1908 an amendment was made to the constitution of 
Oregon providing for the recall of public officers in that State. 
Upon the filing of a petition signed by not less than twenty- 
five per cent of the voters a special election may be held 
to determine whether or not the people wish to recall an officer. 



44 



THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 



The reasons for the recall are set forth upon the ballot in not 
more than two hundred words, and the defense or justification 
of the officer may be set forth within similar limits. No 
petition can be filed against any official until he has been in 
office for six months, except in the case of a member of the 
State legislature. In such case a petition may be filed after 
five days of the session have elapsed. A second petition for 
recall cannot be filed against an officer unless the signers of 
the petition pay all of the expenses of the first recall election. 
In case it is desired to recall the official, a special election is 
held, known as the "recall election," at which the officer whose 
position is in question may stand for vindication or indorse- 
ment. That is, the officer must retire or run as a candidate for 
a second election. He continues in office unless the recall 
election goes against him. The city of Seattle recalled its 
mayor a short time ago and he was a candidate to succeed 
himself at the special election, but was defeated by a small 
majority. The advocates of the Recall insist that the people, 
after giving the mayor, or other officer, a fair trial of a year 
or more, ought to be able to get rid of him if they wish to, 
without waiting for his full term to expire. 

The Recall is applied chiefly to municipal officers. It 
has met with considerable favor and is now in force in a large 
number of important cities. Some have urged that not only 
administrative officers but judges also should be subject 
to the Recall, but this has met with a stout opposition as an 
interference with the independence of the judiciary. The 
"recall of judicial decisions" has also been urged. This does 
not mean that an ordinary case at law, after the decision of 
judge or jury, should be tried again before the people, but 
only when a court has interpreted the constitution and has 
nullified a public measure as unconstitutional which the legis- 
lature has sought to adopt, then appeal may be made to the 
people to see whether they will recall that decision and inter- 
pret the constitution in a different way. This would give 



PRESENT DAY PROBLEMS IN A DEMOCRACY 45 

to the people and not to the judge the last word in saying 
what may or may not be done under the constitution^ (see 
pp. 329-335)- 

The Short Ballot 

It is claimed that the election ballot is too long — and 
too broad. In some places it is called the "blanket ballot," 
— it is oftentimes four feet long and three feet broad and con- 
tains several hundred names. In Chicago it is not unusual 
for the voter to be confronted with a bewildering array of 
hundreds of names on his ballot, from which he is expected 
to choose a state treasurer, a state superintendent of public 
instruction, trustees of the State University, a representative 
in Congress, a state representative, a United States Senator, 
county sheriff, treasurer, clerk, clerk of the circuit court, 
county superintendent of schools, judge of the county court, 
judge of a probate court, members of the board of assessors, 
nine judges of the city court for a two-year term, members of 
the board of tax review, ten members of the board of county 
commissioners and the president of the board, three sanitary 
trustees, and some others.^ It is too heavy a burden even 
for the most painstaking and intelligent voter. The voter 
cannot know personally or even by reputation one candidate 
out of ten, and the number of candidates on the big ballot 
leads to blind voting. The voter tends to "shut his eyes" Blind Voting 
and vote a straight ticket. That is, he votes for "slates," 
or columns of candidates, or emblems (roosters and eagles) 
without trying to discriminate among the men on his party 
ticket. He thus becomes the tool or victim of the Boss 
who fixes the nominations beforehand. The reform of the 
Short Ballot proposes to remedy this by putting up fewer 
men to elect, in local elections, who can be better known by 

^ For further objections to the Recall and further discussion, see 
Woodburn's Po////ca^ Parties and Party Problems, pp. 452-455. 
2 Garner's Government of the United Stales, p. 138. 



46 



THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 



The Problem 
of the Primary 



Name of Voter 



Kesidencfi 



Registered No. of Voter 



the people and be made more responsible for their conduct. 

All subordinate officers (whose functions are not poUtical) 

can be appointed by these 
Consecutive !N9 48 few or by boards respon- 

sible to them. The people 
can learn about and will 
interest themselves in the 
election of these three or 
four important and respon- 
sible officers and will exert 
themselves to make a good 
choice. In national poli- 
tics, for instance, we elect 
the President, Vice-Presi- 
dent, Senator and Repre- 
sentative, and stop at 
that, while over 400,000 
Federal office holders are 
placed in office under re- 
sponsible appointment. 
Why could not the same 
principle be appHed in State 
and local government?^ 



To vote for any candidate, make a cross (X) in the square in 
the appropriate column according to your choice, at the right of 
the name voted for. 

Vote your first choice in the first column. 

Vote your second choice in the second column. 

Vote in the third column for aU other candidates whom yoa 
wiah to support. , * - 

Do not vote more than one first choice and one second choice 
for any one office. 

Do not vote more than one choice for the same candidate, as 
opiy one chofce will count for anv one candidate. 

If you wrongly mark, tear or deface this ballot, return it and 
obtain another. 



1 


FOR MAYOR 

(One to be Elected) 


First 
Choice 


Second 
Choice 


Other 
Choices 


m 


= 


JOS. E. BOBB 








1 


i 


NEWTON D BAKER 












HARRV L. DAVIS 








1 










i 


1 


WARD 4 
FOR COUNCrL 
(One to be Elected) 


First 
Choice 


Second 
Choice 


Other 

Choices 


= 


1 


NICHOLAS PAPP 




^ 




1 


CHAS. MARQUARD 






1 










1 



A Specimen Short Ballot for a 
City Election 



The Party Primary 

Early in the life of po- 
litical parties the word 
primary was used to indi- 
cate the group of voters, 
or the meeting of such voters, who nominated the candidates 
for office. It may have referred merely to a small caucus, 

1 For further study of the Short Ballot, see Outlook, July 17, 1907; 
Papers of the American Political Science Association, vol. vii; C. L. 
Jones Readings in Parties and Elections, Annals of the American 
Academy, 1911. The Short Ballot League, 127 Duane Street, New 
York, will furnish pamphlets on the subject. 



PRESENT DAY PROBLEMS IN A DEMOCRACY 47 

or informal meeting of party managers or interested voters. 
Sometimes in local politics a mass meeting of party voters in 
the town or county was called for nominating a candidate or a 
ticket, or to appoint delegates to some party convention, and 
everybody was entitled to come who claimed membership in 
the party. Usually delegates to district and State conventions 
of the party were chosen by these irregular local primaries or 
caucuses or mass meetings. If a great many were present at 
the primary, or meeting, and there were contests or divisions 
among the party members, some kind of formal voting was 
permitted. Someone passed a hat for the "ballots" and a 
committee was appointed to count out the votes. But there 
was a good chance to "stuff" the hat and to commit fraud 
in the count. Everything depended on the chairman or the 
committees he appointed. 

Sometimes the primaries would be called at inconvenient 
times and places, in saloons and livery stables, or in rooms 
which could not hold half the voters, so that many who came 
could not get in. Sometimes the party managers failed to 
give due public notice of the primary, and "snap primaries" 
were held, delegates were appointed and a ticket nominated irreguiarittes 

in nominating 

before the people knew anythmg about it. Or, a group of men candidates and 

in a back room in secret conclave would "set things up" and delegates 

the loyal party voter when he came to the open primary 

found that there had already been a primary, — the bosses 

and the rings had arranged his ticket for him. These abuses 

and practices were especially prevalent in large cities where 

the people could not know one another. The consequence 

was that the bosses and their henchmen virtually directed the 

nominations. The party meeting, or "primary," was in no 

way directed by law. The law took no notice of the party 

or its conduct, or the way in which its members brought out 

its ticket of candidates. Only the final election was regulated 

by law. But it was soon to be seen that the nomination was 

as important as the election. If good officers were to be chosen 



48 



THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 



State Control 
of the Primary 



and if only those on a party ticket had any chance, the nomi- 
nating primary was even more important than the election. 

These irregular and lawless primaries and caucuses were 
not used so much to make direct local nominations but rather 
to name delegates to conventions for that purpose, — city 
conventions, county conventions, district conventions. State 
conventions. These delegate conventions were controlled 
by those who controlled the local caucuses and primaries. 
The people began to believe that the convention was not always 
fair and might be corrupt, and that it did not fairly represent 
the people and did not name for oflfice the men the people or 
the voters of the party would have chosen. The convention 
was manipulated by rings of professional politicians and office- 
holders who gave all their time to politics; "slates" and 
''deals" were made, delegates were bought, and sold and 
merely a handful of men determined the action of the party. 
So the demand for primary election reform arose. The re- 
formers insisted that the convention as a means of making 
nominations should be abandoned and that the whole body 
of the party should be allowed to take part in choosing 
the candidate, in order that men who cannot make politics 
their business or who will not indulge in dishonorable practices 
might better make their influence felt. 

In consequence of these demands and conditions most 
of the States have passed primary election laws to regulate 
the making of nominations. When and how and where shall 
a primary election be called? Who shall conduct it? Who 
may take part in it? How shall its expenses be met? How 
shall the ballot be prepared and what candidates' names may 
appear thereon? Shall the regular election laws apply to its 
conduct and what penalties shall be imposed for law violation? 
All such matters must be attended to by the States. A primary 
becomes another election and since every member of the party 
should have an equal chance with every other this right must be 
safeguarded by law, and irregularities and abuses must be 



PRESENT DAY PROBLEMS IN A DEMOCRACY 49 

prevented as in the regular election. At first the primary 
election laws applied only to larger cities and were made 
optional elsewhere, allowing local communities to nominate 
their candidates by a primary election (managed by party 
committees) if they chose to do so. But in recent years 
most of the States have enacted State-wide primary laws 
which are mandatory in all localities and for all parties, 
especially for local nominations. In many States, nominations 
for the State and Congressional tickets are still made by 
conventions, though the delegates to these conventions may 
be elected by regulated primaries. 

Essential Features in Party Primaries 

Certain features are considered essential in a good primary 
election law: 

1. The primary election of all parties shall be held on the 
same day, the time and place to be fixed by law and not left 
to party committees. This will prevent "snap primaries," 
and primary day, say from thirty to sixty days before 
election, will become as well known as election day is now. 
The voters of one party will be prevented from "packing" 
the primary of the other party and nominating weak candi- 
dates. The same election officials can conduct the primaries 
of all parties and save expenses. 

2. A good registration law. The party voters must be 
registered a certain number of days before the primary, so 
that illegal or fraudulent voting may be prevented. 

3. The party afl&liation or preference of all voters should be 
ascertained and recorded. No opponent of a party should 
be allowed to vote in its primary. The law should protect a 
party from its enemies who may seek to weaken or disrupt 
it. The test of party membership or party fealty is a difficult 
matter in framing primary election laws. Sometimes a 
pledge is required of the voter that he will support the ticket 
nominated, or a statement that he voted the party ticket, or 



50 THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 

most of it, in the last election. Many independent voters 
cannot make such pledges or statements and do not care 
to announce their party allegiance. Party officers generally 
wish to be liberal in admitting the independent element 
within the party, and experience has shown that it is not the 
part of party wisdom to apply hard party tests or cast-iron 
pledges. A mere declaration of party preference may be 
sufhcient. Self-respecting and honorable men will not attempt 
to vote in the primary of a party whose principles and policies 
they are unwilling to promote, and the unscrupulous will do 
so in the face of pledges. If a man wishes to be so independent 
as not to acknowledge that he has any party allegiance at all, 
he may deny himself the privilege of taking part in a primary 
and merely confine himself to choosing between the parties after 
the nominations are made. This, of course, is a man's privilege. 

4. The Australian secret ballot system of voting should be 
used in the primary, as in the regular election. .All the safe- 
guards of the law should be placed around the primary. 

There are other minor features in a primary election, 
(i) It should be mandatory and not left to the option of 
party committees. (2) The candidates' names should rotate 
on the printed ballot, each candidate having his name first on 
an equal number. A name appearing first on the ballot has a 
distinct advantage, as many indifferent voters, not knowing the 
candidates, are likely to vote for the first on the list. Adams 
would therefore have an advantage over Williams if the names 
were arranged alphabetically. In a poll of twenty thousand 
the first place is probably worth one thousand votes. If the 
man's name is placed first who filed his application first, there 
may be collusion with party chairmen of committees. Ro- 
tation seems fairer. (3) A goodly number of names should 
be required on nominating petitions and a reasonable fee for 
the expenses of the primary should be paid before a man's 
name is permitted to go on the ballot. This will aid in pre- 
venting fake candidacies. 



PRESENT DAY PROBLEMS IN A DEMOCRACY 51 

Polling places must be rented, election officers employed, bal- 
lots printed and distributed. In some States it is provided 
that the expense for these things is paid by the public on the 
ground that the primary election is a matter of public concern 
and is not held in the interest of the candidates. By other laws 
a fee is exacted of the candidate, ten dollars or more, to be col- 
lected and used by public officials and not by party committees. 

If party delegates do not meet in convention to nominate 
a ticket how shall the party platform be announced? In 
Oregon each candidate nominated by the primary is required 
to announce his own platform in a brief statement of one '^^^ Primary 

and the Party 

hundred words. In Wisconsin the candidates of the party piatform 
for State offices and for the legislature meet together and 
announce the policies which they will act upon if elected. 
In Missouri the party candidates for Congress act with the 
other candidates in making a party platform. In Texas 
if ten per cent of the party voters ask for it by petition, a 
question of party policy must be submitted to the voters in 
the primary. Under such plans the voters will know what to 
expect if certain candidates are elected. It should be known 
that the candidates represent and will stand on their platforms, 
both before and after election. 

Objections to the Primary System 

We can here only briefly state the various objections that 
are made to the primary system: 

1. It tends to promote rather than check election cor- 
ruption. A primary is only another election, and until our 
elections can be reformed we ought not to have any more of 
them. This objection has weight with many people. 

2. It promotes a multiplicity of candidates to the confusion 
of the voters, and is likely to lead to a minority nomination. 
The "ring" may bring out a whole lot of candidates to divide 
the anti-ring vote while concentrating their own votes on their 
man. Thus a man may be nominated who represents but a 



52 THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 

third or a fourth of the party voters, merely because he may 
receive more votes than any one else but may lack many 
votes of having a majority. A convention may keep on bal- 
loting until some one receives a majority of all; so if one of 
the leading candidates cannot be nominated, a new man 
satisfactory to a majority as second choice may be nominated. 
This objection may be partly obviated by the short ballot 
(see p. 45) and by a system of preferential voting (see p. 54). 
In South Carolina the primary law provides that if no candi- 
date for governor receives a majority of the party vote in 
the first primary, a second primary shall be held to choose 
between the two leading candidates. 

3. It is claimed by party men that the primary system 
tends to weaken and destroy the party. It causes factions, 
jealousies, and divisions, and prevents effective organization 
for carrying elections. State candidates cannot be properly 
distributed in a geographical way so as to strengthen the 
party in all parts of the State. Others contend that the pri- 
mary system tends to strengthen parties, as it so reforms 
their practices that men who have become antagonized and 
disgusted come into more active party relations. 

4. It is claimed that where the primary nominating 
method is applied to a whole State for State oflEices the ex- 
pense of becoming a winning candidate is so great that only 
rich men may hope to succeed. 

The primary nominating system, while marking a demo- 
cratic advance over the convention system, has not produced 
results that are entirely satisfactory. It has been the first 
means of breaking the hold of the political boss and his ring, 
but in order to accomplish the end in view, to allow the people 
to rule, the advocates of popular government claim that two 
elections should be avoided and that the primary should 
be superseded by a system of nomination by petitions com- 
bined with the short ballot and the use of the preferential 
voting. 



PRESENT DAY PROBLEMS IN A DEMOCRACY 53 

Nominations by Petitions 

These instruments of popular control are intended to apply 
more especially in local elections. Nomination by petition 
involves bringing out candidates without reference to their 
party relations and without party action. The Party has 
been made use of by self-seeking men for their own gain. 
The party managers ask the masses of the voters (most of 
whom never expect to hold ofl&ce nor do they aspire to do so) 
to be loyal to the party for the sake of the managers and ^^^^® ^"*y 
candidates, to put them into office. They would sacrifice 
good government for partyism and they would sacrifice the 
party for themselves. 

It matters little, or none at all, in local government, to what 
party the officers belong. Honesty, efficiency, and public 
spirit in office are what the people want. In city elections, 
on questions relating to schools, to public health, to suppression 
of crime, to the water supply, to the regulation of public utili- 
ties and all similar questions, it is to the people's interest to 
disregard all party issues and party agencies. By the system Non-Parti- 
of nominations by petitions they are enabled to do this. Government 
To nominate by petition means that if any body of voters 
(a certain per cent provided in the law) sign a petition for a 
nomination, the name signed for must go on the official ballot, 
and it goes on without party emblem, column, or indication, 
and that is the only way in which any name may go on. There 
are to be no party signs, circles, or fixtures. If party managers 
still wish to hold a city convention, nominate a set of party 
candidates and have their names put on the ballot by petition, 
they could do so, — if the convention could enroll enough 
people, — but they cannot use a party emblem. If men then 
voted in groups for the same candidates they would be natural 
groups brought together for unity of action by a common 
opinion and common purpose. The party spoilsmen will 
find a way of acting together, if they can agree; so will those 



54 



THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 



Danger of 
Minority 
Control in 
making 
Nominations 



who are opposed to their ways and their men. The names on 
the nominating petitions will be known and so will the char- 
acter of the candidates. 

Those who urge the substitution of the petition nominating 
method instead of the primary election, emphasize the serious 
danger of the plurality nomination which the primary tends 
to promote. A bad man gets a valuable political asset when 
he gets a party nomination; he can then use the party label 
to draw votes. "Whoever else may appear at a primary, 
those with axes to grind are pretty sure to be there to a man, 
and of these the largest single faction, or plurality, is more than 
likely to be machine-ridden. A minority goes to the primary. 
A minority of that minority is more than likely to carry the 
primary. A nomination is made by a minority of the minority 
because the procedure divides the majority." The machine 
forces act on the old maxim, "Divide and conquer." If the 
boss's opponents are divided, he wins, and the more candidates 
the smaller the group required to win. The majority are 
more likely to be self-respecting voters of independent minds, 
and they cannot, therefore, be so readily marshalled to act as a 
unit.^ When the shackles of party are lifted and the people do 
not have to choose the "lesser of two evils" but are free to act 
with independent leaders who are concerned with local needs 
and are well educated on local issues, then a party nomination 
for a man may prove to be an element of weakness rather than 
strength. 

The Preferential Ballot 

The preferential ballot is vital to the plan of non-partisan 
local government. Further explanation of preferential voting 
may be found in a description of the Bucklin system, named 
after Hon. James W. Bucklin of Grand Junction, Colorado, 

^ These considerations and other forceful points are brought out in 
the address of Professor Lewis J. Johnson, "The Preferential Ballot as 
a Substitute for the Direct Primary," Senate Document No. 985, 63d 
Congress, 3d Session. 



PRESENT DAY PROBLEMS IN A DEMOCRACY S5 
who originated it. It is put forward by students of government '^^^ BucUin 

, • , , , , , • ,11 Systemof 

as good m theory and the best yet known m workable prac- Preferential 
tice. " The ballot is easily understood, easily voted and easily Voting 
counted." It will attract desirable candidates and is calcu- 
lated to protect the general interest against cliques, machines 
and special interests. In the city of Cleveland it has supplanted 
the primary and has resulted in easy non-partisan elections. 
The accompanying illustrations will aid in understanding it: 



Ballot Illustrating Preferential Voting 
(Bucklin system) 

Instructions. — To vote for a candidate make a cross (X) in the 
appropriate space. 

Vote your first choice in the first column. 

Vote your second choice in the second column. 

Vote ONLY one first choice and only one second choice for any one 
ofi&ce. 

Vote in the third column for all the other candidates whom you 
wish to support. 

Do NOT VOTE more THAN ONE CHOICE FOR ONE PERSON, aS Only One 

choice will count for any candidate. 



For Mayor 
(One to be elected) 


First choice 
(Not more 
than one) 


Second choice. 
(Not more 
than one) 


Other choices. 
(As many as 
you wish) 


Charles E. Hughes 






X 


Champ Clark 
















































Robert L. Owen 




X 




William H. Taft 
































Woodrow Wilson 


X 






William J. Bryan 






X 














Theodore Roosevelt 






X 















$6 THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 

"A voter marks his first choice by placing a cross in the 
first or left-hand of these columns opposite his first-choice 
candidate's name and, if he wishes, a second choice by a 
similar cross in the second column, and as many other choices 
as he desires (without attempting to grade them) by addi- 
tional crosses in the third or right-hand column, but only 
one choice will be counted for any one candidate. If a can- 
didate receives a majority of the first choices, he is elected; 
if not, the first and second choices for each candidate are 
added together. The man then highest wins, provided he 
has that majority; if no one thus receives a majority, all 
three choices for each candidate are added together and the 
highest man wins whether he has a majority or not. This, 
with elimination of the primary election, insures either that 
the man elected is either the choice of a majority of the voters, 
or is the man among the nominees commanding the largest 
following of all after a free and full expression of choice by 
the voters. In fact, there will be a majority of the voters 
behind the winner, unless the list of nominees contains no 
one who can command a majority. Then we have the next 
best thing, and probably the best possible with that list of 
nominees."^ 

It is expected that the voter will express choices only for 
such candidates as he is willing to help elect; he should leave 
undesirable candidates unvoted for, as in the Australian ballot 
(see p. 1 6). If the voter puts his cross (x) in the second 
or third column, he may, in so doing, help to defeat his own 
first choice, but out of a list of desirable candidates he will 
be satisfied if his second or lower-choice man beats a ring 
candidate or an "undesirable citizen." The honest voter's 
main purpose is to keep out bad and incompetent men and 
that greatly outweighs with him the loss of his personal 
choice. This completely "turns the tables" on the machine 
partisan or henchman who puts private schemes ahead of 

^ Johnson's "Preferential Ballot as a Substitute for the Primary." 



PRESENT DAY PROBLEMS IN A DEMOCRACY 57 

the public good and into whose hands the present system so 
perniciously plays. ^ 



How the Bucklin System Works in Practice 

Practical working of preferential voting, Grand Junction, Colo., 
November 2, 1909 

Total number of ballots cast 1,847 

Majority (of first choices) 900 

Result of the votes for mayor 

Combined Combined 

First Second Other firsts firsts, sec- 

choice choice choices and ends, 

seconds others 

D. W. Aupperle 465 i43 i4S 608 753 

W. H. Bannister 603 93 43 696 739 

N. A. Lough 99 231 328 330 658 

E. B. Lutes 41 114 88 155 243 

E. M. Slocomb 229 357 326 586 912 

T. M. Todd (elected) 362 293 396 655 1,051 

1,799 1,231 1,326 

The light vote in the second and third columns is, of course, due to 
the 603 Bannister voters' natural concentration on the only candidate 
acceptable to them. This gave them a lead in first choices, but being 
in the minority they could not win against the majority, because, 
thanks to this ballot, the majority were able to get together. 

The decision arrived at was as follows: 

No one having a majority in first choices, the firsts and 
seconds were added together. Then the leading candidate, 
Bannister, provided he had a majority, would have won. 

No one having a majority by combined firsts and seconds, 
the first, second, and other choices were added together, 
and Todd, the candidate then leading, won. 

Under the usual plurality system the minority would have 
beaten the majority and elected Bannister. 

The scheme worked well in Spokane in 191 1 at the first 
election under the Commission Government. There were 
five candidates to elect, each office carrying a salary of $5000. 
1 Johnson's " Preferential Ballot," p. 4. 



Preferential 

Voting 

illustrated 



Result of 
Preferential 
Voting in 
Spokane 



58 THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 

Nominations could be made by twenty-five citizens. There 
were ninety-two candidates for the five offices. There were 
over 22,000 votes cast, including 7000 women voters who 
were voting for the first time. The election went off without 
difficulty. Of the twelve highest names on the list as well as 
of the five elected, not one had ever held an elective office 
before. They were men successful in business, a type quite 
different from the ordinary politician. One of the men elected 
(the President of the Spokane Chamber of Commerce) was 
nominated and elected while he was absent from the State. 
His only campaigning consisted in accepting the nomination 
and writing two or three letters home which were published 
in the local papers, — quite different from the corrupt and 
unseemly campaign methods which most of our cities are 
familiar with. Of the five winners in Spokane no one could 
command a majority of first choice votes, but all were men of 
standing, successful in life, of high civic spirit. Spokane 
found that the change in the rules had worked well. 

At the next election two men were to be elected. The first 
trial had shown the uselessness of trifling candidacies. This 
time there were only twelve candidates, ten besides the two 
incumbents who were candidates for reelection. Strong as 
these two men were, the voters selected two others in their places, 
■ — they seemed overtopped by still more respectable men.^ 

The system of preferential voting has supplanted the primary 
in more than twenty-five cities, and it bids fair to come into 
general use like the Australian ballot. 

Proportional Representation 

Another problem much discussed in recent years is that of 
proportional representation. There are several plans of 
proportional representation. They are devised for the 
better representation of the minority, that parties, interests, 

^ This description is taken from Professor Johnson's address pre- 
viously cited, and substantially in his language. 



PRESENT DAY PROBLEMS IN A DEMOCRACY 59 

or groups may be represented in the governing body in Proportional 

, . , T-. 1-111 Representation 

proportion to their numbers. J^very plan involves the elec- 
tion of at least three persons at one voting. Under the 
"limited vote" plan, if three persons are to be elected 
in one election (as three commissioners for a county, or 
three representatives for the legislature from a district in 
the state, or three councilmen-at-large for a city), no voter is 
allowed to vote for more than two candidates. The minority 
party may then surely elect one if it nominates only one and 
if all or most of the party vote for him. By the "cumulative 
vote" plan, each voter may cast as many votes as there are 
candidates to be elected. He may distribute these votes, 
giving one to each candidate, or he may concentrate them upon 
one, giving three votes for one man. By organized concen- 
tration the minority party may nearly always secure a fair 
representation. In applying proportional representation in 
a city, ward lines should be abolished. Every councilman, 
or alderman, represents the whole city, no matter in what 
part of the city he may live. He votes on franchises, revenues, 
and all kinds of business in which the whole city is interested. 
All the people of the city are his constituents and all should 
be allowed to help elect or defeat him. However, since 
special local interests in a city may need attention from a 
Board of Aldermen, it is not unreasonable to require that the 
list of candidates should be representative of different parts 
of the city but all should be voted for by the city at large. 
In this way a ward boss or heeler whom a ward might send to 
the council could be defeated. 

Proportional representation is still more easily worked by 
combining it with preferential voting. Among a list of candi- 
dates the voter may put the figure i opposite his first choice, 
the figure 2 opposite his second choice, and so on for as many 
candidates as he wishes to vote for. By an addition of choices 
any number of officers out of any number of candidates may 
be elected and every voter may have the assurance that he 



6o THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 

is not ''throwing his vote away" and that he will not go 
unrepresented, but that his vote is certain to contribute to 
the election of one or more of the men of his choice.^ 

The Spoils and the Merit System 

Ever since Jackson's time the problem of the "Spoils 
System" has confronted the American democracy. The 
people of the United States have had a sad experience with 
The SpoUs the problem. They have succeeded in the face of opposi- 

NatioMi Gov- ^^^^ ^^ Substituting the merit system to a large extent, 
ernment The merit system simply means the holding of ofl&ce on the 

basis of merit rather than on the basis of political "pull" or 
influence. There was a time when lucrative and important 
offices were parcelled out to politicians and their friends with- 
out much regard to their fitness to fill them. This practice 
began in some of the States, especially in New York and 
Pennsylvania, before it was introduced into national politics. 
It was under Jackson, after 1829, that announcement was 
made, "To the victors belong the spoils," ^ which m.eans 
that public offices and salaries shall be used to reward party 
workers. Whether the men appointed were competent and 
honest was a secondary matter. Party Presidents after 
Jackson followed the same rule. 

1 There is an American Proportional Representation League which 
publishes a Proportional Representation Review. The number of the 
Review for October, 1914, contains an analysis of the political com- 
plexion of the House of Representatives at Washington, showing the 
misrepresentation involved. In Illinois the Democrats secured one 
member of Congress for every 23,000 Democratic votes cast, the 
Republicans one for every 73,000 of their votes, the Progressives 
one for every 125,000. This gave the Democrats three times as much 
representation as the Republicans and five times as much as the 
Progressives. The Socialists in Illinois cast nearly 70,000 votes and 
got no representation. If representation had been proportional, the 
Democrats would have had 11 members instead of 20, the Repub- 
licans 8 instead of 5, the Progressives 6 instead of 2, the Socialists 
2 instead of none. 

2 Said by Senator Marcy of New York. 



PRESENT DAY PROBLEMS IN A DEMOCRACY 6 1 



It was not until 1883 that Congress was moved to pass 
an act for the reform of the civil service. By this act a civil 
service commission of three men was constituted to have 
charge of the new merit plan. Under this act the appoint- 
ment to certain public oiSces is made upon the basis of com- 
petitive examination. No Senator or Representative is per- 
mitted to make recommendations to the board, and no officer 
can be removed for political reasons. A system of promotions 
enables competent officials to advance to higher places on merit. 

The number of offices covered by the original act was only 
fourteen thousand; the number now comprised is more than 
two hundred thousand. The list has been extended by ex- 
ecutive orders of several Presidents of different parties, from 
Arthur and Cleveland to Roosevelt, Taft, and Wilson. About 
four fifths of all the national officers are now under civil 
service rules. 

The "Spoils System" has been as harmful in the State 
as in the nation and much less has been done to check it. 
Appointive offices in almost all of the States are still filled 
largely upon a political basis. The distribution of the offices 
is sometimes the "burning" question in the campaign. The 
tenure of office is thus made to depend, not upon efficiency, 
but upon service rendered to the "machine" or to the "boss." 

This is a standard of service which no intelligent man would 
tolerate in his private business. Three states — Massachusetts, 
New York, and Wisconsin — have passed civil service laws quite 
similar to the national law above referred to. These acts tend 
to exclude incompetent politicians from service and to give 
all intelligent men, whether politicians or not, an opportunity 
to serve the State. They also make the term of office depend, 
not upon political activity, but upon the capable administra- 
tion of the duties of the office. 

The merit system has also, fortunately, found its way 
into some of our large cities. This is true of the cities of 
Massachusetts, New York, and Wisconsin, as well as of many 



Civil Service 
Commission 



The "Spoils 
System " In the 
States 



Civil Service 
Laws In the 
States 



62 



THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 



Poverty and 
Crime 



Work of 

Organized 

Charity 



cities in other States, such as Des Moines, Chicago, and New 
Orleans. For the most part, however, city offices are still 
parcelled out in return for political services, and the tax payer 
is left to bear the burden of inefficient and extravagant muni- 
cipal government. 

Caring for Dependent and Criminal Classes 

States and cities are constantly trying to find better and 
more economical methods of caring for the dependent and 
criminal classes, A generation or two ago little or no attention 
was given by public officials to the matter of poor-relief. 
Alms were dispensed indiscriminately by public officials, 
private societies, and individuals. No questions were asked 
and. no investigations made. In many cases public officials 
dispensed aid in such a way as to bolster up their political 
fortunes. The results were deplorable, and a hoard of con- 
firmed paupers and professional beggars sprang up. The 
children of these people became familiar from infancy with 
this mode of living, and, coming to the conclusion that the 
world owed them a living without any effort on their part, 
followed in the footsteps of their parents. With self-respect 
gone there was no hope that they would ever become self- 
supporting citizens. And so conditions grew worse rather 
than better. 

The remedy for this state of things was sought in Charity 
Organization Societies which attempted to administer relief 
along scientific lines. Cases are thoroughly investigated 
by trained workers, and relief is given to worthy persons but 
denied to impostors. An attempt is made to help people to 
help themselves, and to this end employment is found for them. 
Advice and encouragement are also given. After a time the 
individual or family again becomes self-supporting and their 
self-respect has been maintained. This plan also prevents 
the overlapping process whereby an impostor might obtain aid 
from several different sources at the same time, while deserving 



PRESENT DAY PROBLEMS IN A DEMOCRACY 63 

persons were entirely overlooked. The amount of money 
expended for charitable purposes in the United States is a 
tremendous sum, mounting up into the hundreds of milhons 
of dollars. Some thought, obviously, should be given to the 
wise expenditure of this sum. This is the work of the Charity 
Organization Society. Organized charity, while doing the 
work more thoroughly than before, tends also to lower the 
total cost. 

The proper and effective treatment of criminals is a problem 
as old as history itself. The old idea was one of vindictive '^^® Treatment 

. , ^^ °^ Criminals 

punishment. The latter idea looks to the reform as well as 
the punishment of the offender. While we still feel that the 
way of the transgressor should not be made particularly 
smooth, we also feel that the effo'!'t should be made to reform 
or cure the young offender, that is, a person who is young in 
years or new to crime. On this account reformatories are 
wisely separated from penitentiaries, young offenders being 
sent to the former and chronic ones to the latter. Some 
reformatories, such as that at Elmira, New York, are, to some 
extent, educational institutions where trades and the common 
branches are taught. The boy is taught to know and to do 
something, and is given lessons in saving and in thrift. After 
his discharge some association takes him in hand, provides 
work for him, and sees to it that he is not forever branded 
as an ex-convict. Society has been exceedingly heartless in 
this respect. It has been very difficult for a young man who 
has fallen to get a new start. 

The indeterminate sentence and parole laws have been 
powerful agencies in the reformation of men. Under this plan '^^^ 

. , . . . . 1 r • • ^ Indeterminate 

a man convicted of crime is sentenced, not for a definite period, sentence 
but for an indeterminate one of not less than two and not more 
than fourteen years. Any time after the expiration of two 
years the prisoner, in case his conduct has been satisfactory, 
may ask to be released on parole. If released, he reports at 
stated intervals to the authorities and his release finally 



64 



THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 



becomes permanent. The theory of the plan is that a convict is 
not finally released until he is considered cured, that is, until 
he is looked upon as a safe man to have his liberty. The 
plan, on the whole, has worked well; only a small percentage 
of the paroled fall back into their evil ways. 

The fact that crime in the United States does not seem to 
be decreasing materially, has been the cause of some uneasi- 
ness. Severe penalties have been tried in vain. They do not 
deter the criminal as they were expected to do. He hopes to 
escape detection or punishment, and in too many cases he 
succeeds. Under our imperfect system of police and courts, it 
is far easier than it should be for the law-breaker to escape 
punishment. It is also easier for him to escape in this country 
than it is in some of the countries of Europe. Since it is the 
certainty, rather than the severity, of the punishment that 
deters the wrong-doer, it is exceedingly unfortunate that so 
many go scot-free. 

We are looking more deeply into causes of crime now 
than we have ever done before and are coming to the conclusion 
that prevention is better than punishment. Crime is due, to 
a large extent, to evil surroundings, bad company, crowded 
tenements, grinding poverty, evil resorts like low saloons 
and gambling places, and to a lack of employment, as well as 
to useless luxury and excessive wealth. Reformers are now 
trying to remove or counteract the influences leading to crime. 
This work is fundamental and should yield good results in 
due time. In some parts of our large cities the buildings in 
criminal and unsanitary districts are being demolished to give 
place to better ones. Environment is an exceedingly impor- 
tant factor in character formation, especially in one's early 
years. 

Regulation of the Liquor Traffic 

One of the notable movements having for its purpose the 
prevention of poverty and crime^ is that for the stricter regu- 



PRESENT DAY PROBLEMS IN A DEMOCRACY 65 

lation of the manufacture and sale of intoxicating liquors. 
This has been carried on in the States under the operation 
of the police powers. The "police powers" of the State do 
not here relate merely to the conduct of the police depart- P°iice Powers 

of the State 

ment, but it is a term which includes all the broad general 
power of government to protect the property and lives of 
citizens, to regulate their conduct and to safeguard their 
health, comfort, and peace. Congress exercises very little of 
such power, as in preventing piracy, counterfeiting and dis- 
order within national property or territory. 

Not only the regulation but the prohibition of the liquor 
traffic has been held to be justifiable on the ground that "the 
public welfare is the highest law" and that the morals, 
health, and safety of society demand the public control, 
if not the suppression, of this traffic. Many saloons have 
been unregulated and have been run by men who constantly 
violate the law. They have become a resort of gamblers, 
criminals, and immoral persons, and a source of political 
corruption. Prohibition workers and the "Anti-Saloon 
League" (an organization of allied churches) have aroused a 
strong public sentiment demanding the suppression of such 
saloons as the "breeding places of vice and crime." Twenty- 
four States are now, or soon are to be, under laws pro- 
hibiting the making and selling of intoxicating liquors except 
for medicinal and mechanical purposes.^ As a war measure 
Congress forbade all distillation of spirits for beverage pur- 

1 The States in the order of their adopting prohibition are as follows: 
Maine, 1851; Kansas, 1880; North Dakota, 1889; Georgia, 1907; Ok- 
lahoma, 1907; North Carolina, 1908; Mississippi, 1908; Tennessee, 
1909; West Virginia, 191 2; Virginia, 1914; Colorado, 1914; Oregon, 
1914; Washington, 1914; Arizona, 1914; Arkansas, 1915; Alabama, 
1915; Idaho, 1915; Iowa, 1915; Montana, 1916; Nebraska, 1916; 
Utah, 1916; Michigan, 1916; Indiana, 19 17. An amendment to the 
U . S. constitution has been passed by a two-thirds' vote of both houses 
of Congress and is pending (1918) before the State legislatures. If three- 
fourths of the legislatures approve it, prohibition will prevail legally 
throughout the nation. 



66 



THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 



poses during the war, and distilleries (after October i, 191 7) 
were forced to close down. This was to prevent the use of 
grains and food stuffs for making whiskey. 

A decision of the Supreme Court has been handed down 
(January, 191 7) affirming the constitutionality of the Webb- 
Kenyon Act. This Act provides that liquor shall not be 
shipped into a State contrary to the prohibition law of that 
State. The State has the undoubted right to exercise its 
police power to suppress the liquor traffic within its bounds. 
It was held that this power interfered with the right of Congress 
to regulate interstate commerce. It seemed the two rights 
were in conflict. By this decision the Court makes the police 
power of the State prevail over the commerce-regulating power 
of Congress. The court says: "We can have no doubt that 
Congress has complete authority to prevent the paralyzing 
of State authority." Before this the nation was in the posi- 
tion of cooperating with those who were seeking to defeat 
the efforts of the States to banish the Hquor traf&c. If liquor 
dealers were allowed to ship their "wet goods" into "dry" 
States, the police regulations of the States would be thwarted 
or defeated. Only a few of the prohibition States have so 
far forbidden all importation of liquors. These are the 
"bone dry" States. It is now decided they may all do so, 
as they likely will. It is a staggering blow to the liquor traffic. 
The nation should go further and actively sustain the State 
authorities in their efforts to enforce their liquor laws. The 
use of a Federal license to enable one to sell liquor contrary 
to the laws and wishes of a State should be considered an 
offense against the Federal Government, as much so as "moon- 
shining." The nation should sustain and not defeat the 
State law. If the States should now prohibit the shipment 
of liquors to "dry" cities and counties within the State, 
the railroads and express companies would have to obey 
and the local "boot-leggers" and "blind tigers" could be 
forced out. 



PRESENT DAY PROBLEMS IN A DEMOCRACY 67 



Pure Food 
PureW^terfc- 

Pure Air 



Sunshine 
Shelter 



Public Health 
There is no more important problem before the pubHc than 
that of the pubHc health, and probably none which has been 

longer neglected. It is 

exceedingly difl&cult to 
arouse a community to 
the importance of pro- 
tecting itself against dis- 
ease. People receive their 
daily milk supply without 
thinking very seriously 
about the sanitary condi- 
tions of the dairy from 
which it comes. The 
same is true of ice, meat, 
and other household sup- 
plies. The people are 
now, however, waking up 
to the supreme impor- 
tance of these matters. 
State boards of health 
and voluntary organiza- 
tions, like the Society 
for the Study and Pre- 
vention of Tuberculosis, 
are also doing a valuable 
work in serving public 
health. The time will 




Reach for these five necessities 
with clean hand and clear hea^ 
OMan! and if need be clinch 
your fist and fi^ht for them. 



A Health Message to The People 

A card issued by the Chicago Depart- 
ment of Health. The people must now 
provide these essential needs of life 
through the agencies of government. 



come, if it has not come already, when prevention of disease will 
be considered the most important branch of medical science. 

Immigration 
Since 1787 we have received into this country fully thirty 
millions of people from foreign countries. In recent years 
immigrants have come at the rate of more than a million a 



68 



THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 



The Problem 

of 

Immlgratloa 



year. The problem has been to take in these people from 
foreign lands, many of them speaking a different language, most 
of them of different modes of life from our own, to assimilate 
them, and make them true and patriotic American citizens. 
"The migration or importation of such persons as any 
of the States shall think proper to admit" was not to be inter- 
fered with by Congress prior to 1808.^ Since that date Con- 
gress has had full control of immigration. The problem has 




A Diagram Showing the Line of Increase or Decline of 

Immigration Since i860 



been a subject of controversy for over a hundred years. There 
was an anti-alien movement in 1798, when the notorious Alien 
Law was passed. The Nativist Movement and the "Know- 
nothing" Movement in the middle of the last century are 
other illustrations. Generally our policy has been one of 
liberality and hospitality toward the immigrants, keeping 
" the latch-string out," or an open door to all comers. America 

1 Constitution, Art. I, Sec. 9. This section of the Constitution 
applied chiefly to the foreign slave trade, but immigration was also 
included. 



PRESENT DAY PROBLEMS IN A DEMOCRACY 69 

is looked upon as a land of freedom, an asylum for the poor 
and oppressed of other lands, as "another name for oppor- 
tunity," where all may come, however poor, and find a 
chance to get on in the world. All the people who ever came America 

, \ . f , 1 Liberal 

to America (^except the slaves) were immigrants and nearly toward 
all came for the same reason, — namely, to better their con- in"aigrants 
dition in life and to give their children a better opportunity 
than their parents had. The descendants of the early comers 
have been disposed to be generous toward the later comers. 



1000000 

800000 



1907. 1908 1309 19IO l^Il ISIS 1913 1914 



h 4 

1915 I9I6 



Chart of Immigration for Ten Years from 1907 
The effect of the war is seen. 

Immigration increases in prosperous times and decreases 
in hard times, which shows that it is controlled by economic 
and industrial forces, if left unregulated by statute law. In 
1864, in harmony with our liberal policy, Congress organized 
a bureau to encourage and safeguard immigration. It was not 
until 1882 that restrictions began. In that year Congress 
passed the Chinese Exclusion Act and provided for the inspec- 
tion of immigrants and for the deportation of the undesirables, 
— the idiots, the insane, convicts, and paupers liable to become 
a public charge. All these were to be sent back at the expense 
of the steamship company bringing them over. In 1885 the 
Alien Contract Labor Law was passed by Congress to prohibit 
corporations from bringing over laborers under contract. 
The Immigration Act of 1910 provided a head tax of four dol- 
lars upon every immigrant, and it forbade the admission 
(in addition to the classes already mentioned) of epileptics, 
persons suffering from tuberculosis or other dangerous con- 



The 

Immigration 

Bureau : 

Restrictions 

on 

Immigration 



70 



THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 



tagious diseases, polygamists, anarchists, immoral women, 
children under sixteen unaccompanied by their parents, and 
all Chinese, except Chinese students, merchants, professional 
men, and employes of exhibits or expositions. 

These provisions are sanitary measures designed to pro- 
tect the country from crime and disease, or to prevent the 
lowering of the standard of living among American laboring 
men, or to prevent the coming of a class of people deemed in- 
capable of assimilation, like the Chinese. A medical exami- 
nation is made of all aliens at the port of arrival, the cost being 
paid for by the head tax of four dollars, which goes to the 
"Immigration Fund." Less than one and a half per cent 
of the immigrants examined are rejected and returned. If 
an immigrant is denied admission he may appeal to a board 
of inquiry. If this board decides against him he may ap- 
peal to the General Commissioner of Immigration. 

Within the last quarter of a century there has been a rising 
demand for more effective restriction on immigration. Three 
restrictive acts have been passed in Congress and have been 
vetoed by three successive Presidents.^ In February, 191 7, 
the Burnett Immigration Bill was passed by Congress over 
President Wilson's veto. This act strengthens and extends 
the exclusion of aliens. It increases the head tax from $4.00 
to $8.00; it imposes heavier penalties on steamship com- 
panies for bringing to America persons whom the law seeks 
to exclude; its provisions are more rigid as to contract labor; 
and it imposes the "literacy test" which requires all im- 
migrants over 16 years of age (not blind or dumb) to be 
able to read in some language. This is the provision which 
makes large exclusions easy. This seems like a penalty 
imposed on the immigrant, not for any fault but for lack of 
opportunity, in the country from which he came. The 
reading tests are to be taken from the Bible, as the only book 
which is printed in virtually every tongue on earth. 
^ Cleveland in 1897, Taft in 1913, and Wilson in 1915. 



PRESENT DAY PROBLEMS IN A DEMOCRACY 71 




72 



THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 



There have been three reasons for demanding restriction: 

1. The desire to protect the labor market from being over- 
crowded. Organizations of labor have been urging restric- 
tion to save them from hard competition. Most of the 
immigrants are unskilled laborers who crowd into city oc- 
cupations, or crowd the ranks of common labor in manufac- 
turing, mining, building, with disastrous effect on American 
unskilled labor. Very few of them go to the farms. It 
is charged that their coming is due largely to the activity 
of ship companies and their ticket agents, who solicit and 
induce aliens to come to America under false representa- 
tions of high wages and prosperity, while the large factory 
owners make use of them, after they are here, to bring down 
the price of labor. 

2. The great increase of immigration in recent years. A 
million or more of new immigrants every year are more than 
we can reasonably be expected to assimilate and train for citi- 
zenship. When our land was unsettled we had need of and 
plenty of room for the immigrants; the restrictionists say we do 
not need them now when the pressure of population has begun 
to be felt. 

3. The change in the character of the immigration. For- 
merly the immigrants came from Germany, England, Ireland, 
Scandinavia, and the north of Europe. Now over eighty 
per cent of the immigrants come from southern and eastern 
Europe or western Asia, — Italians, Greeks, Slavs, Russian 
Jews, Hungarians, Slovaks, Hunyaks, Poles, Croatians, 
and others not allied to us in race or stock or language. This 
tends to make our people heterogeneous and conglomerate, 
without the national unity that came with the original and 
more voluntary settlers of earlier years. 

On the other hand our country has received great benefits 
from immigration. The sturdy immigrants have helped 
to build and develop America. Without their labor the work 
could not have been done. They have been a source of great 



PRESENT DAY PROBLEMS IN A DEMOCRACY 73 

wealth to the country. It has been estimated that the cost 
of rearing a child in the United States is fully $1200. That 
expense has been met in the case of nearly every immigrant 
by the land of his birth. The great bulk of our immigrants 
are between fourteen and forty-live years of age, — within 
the years of greatest industrial productivity. The labor of 
the more than ten million foreign born who were in America in 
1 9 10 has added fully $600,000,000 yearly to the wealth of 
this country. These immigrants are engaged in doing the 
heavy and dangerous work of the country, — in mines, sewers, 
ditches, buildings, and road construction and factories. 

The Great War and the need of national unity have im- 
pressed upon America the necessity of Americanizing the 
immigrant. New organizations now have this for their pur- 
pose, to require the children of immigrants to attend the public 
schools, to provide night schools for the adults, to require them 
all to learn the Enghsh language, and to understand something 
of our principles of government and the duties of citizenship. 

Some of these .problems have been before the people for Civic Problems 

o r ii i- r J. and the Splnt 

many years. Some of them may contmue tor years to come, ^^ citizenship 
while others of them will become " dead issues." Other 
problems will arise, or appear as old problems in new forms. 
The way they will all be met and solved will depend upon 
the intelligence, the pubHc spirit, and the leadership of the 
people. There will be differences of opinion, but if dis- 
cussion is free; if our poUtical leaders are capable, upright, 
and outspoken; if the voters are uncorrupted and their 
citizenship is marked by honesty and integrity; and if voters 
and leaders are resolved to act in the public interest and 
not for private ends, then no problem will prove too serious 
for solution and the Republic will be safeguarded against any 
danger that may threaten. 



74 THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 

TOPICS AND QUERIES 

1. Explain how government is an "experimental science." What other 

ways are there to learn to govern except by "trying out" ex- 
periments? 

2. Show the growth of democracy in the governmental changes of the 

last hundred years. 

3. How have industrial and social changes brought about govern- 

mental changes in American history? 

4. Debate: (i) "Resolved that the Initiative and Referendum should 

be adopted in the States." 

(2) "Resolved, that the evils of the primary election 

system are greater than its benefits." 

(3) "Resolved, that the license system is preferable to 

prohibition as a solution of the liquor problem." 

(4) "Resolved, that we need in America more individual 

liberty rather than more government." 
(s) "Resolved that immigration should be restricted by 

a literacy test. 
(6) "Resolved that there should be an educational qualifi- 
cation for suffrage." 

5. Hold a mock class election under preferential voting. 

6. Why is economic independence (an occupation, a fair living, some 

property) essential to good citizenship? 

7. Will the Primary System tend to strengthen or weaken the party? 

Why? 

8. What is the defense for the " Spoils System? " 

9. What would be the population of your State if it were as thickly 

populated as Belgium or Holland? 

REFERENCES 

Barnett, James G. Operation of the Initiative and Referendum in Oregon. 

Brooks, Robert C. Corruption in American Politics. 

Brown, Rome G. The Judicial Recall (Opposed) Senate Document, 
August 3, 1912. 

Clark, Charles C. P. The Machine Abolished (Proposing radical 
changes in methods of popular elections). 

Croly, Herbert. The Promise of American Life, pp. 100-126, "Con- 
temporary Situation"; 148-175, "Logic of Reform, Bryan and 
Roosevelt as Reformers." 

Direct Primary Experiment, Atlantic Monthly, July, 19 12. 

Evans, E. C. "A History of the Australian Ballot System in the U. S." 
(Univ. o^ Chicago Press 19 17. Good Bibliography). 

Fuller, Robert H. Government by the People. Chaps. IV, V, X, "Experi- 
ment and Reform." 



PRESENT DAY PROBLEMS IN DEMOCRACY 75 

Initiative, Referendum, and Recall, by Jonathan Bourne, in Atlantic 

Monthly, 191 2. 
Merriam, Charles E. Primary Elections. 
Meyer, Ernst C. Nominating Systems. 
Poindexter, Senator Miles. Recall of Judges, Senate Document, 

No. 472, March 28, 1912. 
Popular vs. Delegated Government, speech by Senator Bourne, of Oregon, 

in United States Senate, May 5, 1910. 
Ransom, W. L. Majority Rule and the Judiciary. 
Ray, P. O. An Introduction to Political Parties and Practical Politics, 

pp. 103-121, "Direct Primary"; 273-332 "Spoils System," and "Civil 

Service Reform." See references to Periodical Literature in this 

volume. 
Right of the People to Rule. Address by ex-President Roosevelt, 

Carnegie Hall, New York, March 20, 191 2. Senate Documents, 

No. 473. 
The Direct Primary: Promise and Performance, A. W. Dunn in Review 

of Reviews, October, 191 2. 
The Right of the People to Review Judge-made Law, Theodore 

Roosevelt, Outlook, August 8, 1914. 
Veto Message of President Taft on the Admission of Arizona, August 15, 

1912, House Documents, No. 106. 
What the Direct Primary Did for California, McClure's Magazine, 

February, 1912. 
Wilcox, Delos F. Government by All the People. Full and favorable 

treatment of Initiative, Referendum, Recall. 
See the Reader's Guide to Periodical Literature for numerous citations 

to magazine articles on the topics of this and other chapters. 



\ 



The Problem of 
Govermneiit's 
Growing 
Business In 
State and 
Nation 



Early Notion 
of Government 



CHAPTER III 
THE ENLARGING POWERS OF GOVERNMENT 

Government Activities Change with Changing Conditions 

As time goes on we find that government is attempting to do 
more and more for the people. If anything is needed the 
people seek to obtain it through the agencies of government. If 
anything goes wrong the people want some law to remedy it. 
They are demanding larger and larger activity on the part of 
government. This is a natural tendency in our complex indus- 
trial society where so many interests are interrelated and where 
the interests and conflicts of classes have to be reconciled. 

The ideas that prevailed about government in the early days 
of our republic were quite different. Jefferson spoke of gov- 
ernment as a "necessary evil" and he said that "the govern- 
ment is best which governs least." His idea was that the chief 
end of government should be to protect society from crime and 
to secure the citizen in his enjoyment of life, liberty, and prop- 
erty. Jefferson thought the State could best perform this 
function. The central government, he thought, should be 
almost entirely a government for foreign affairs, to protect the 
States from foreign invasion or aggression, while also pro- 
viding a few common services, like coining money and fur- 
nishing postal services which the people could not so well 
attend to for themselves. Jefferson had some doubt as to the 
propriety of a National Post Office, thinking it might be better 
to leave the carriage of letters to private enterprise. The 
thought was that the more government kept hands off and let 
the people alone the better for all concerned. Let people do 
things for themselves, in their own way, as individuals and 

76 



THE ENLARGING POWERS OF GOVERNMENT 77 

as neighborhoods. "Sumptuary legislation" was a fearful 
bogie — i.e. laws regulating what people consumed, what they 
ate or drank, or what kind of .air they breathed or how they 
found their amusements or what kind of clothes they wore or 
how these clothes were made, or how people slept and lived. 
It was thought that laws and government should have nothing 
to do with such things. The people would know "when to sow 
and when to reap," and how to build houses and roads and make 
their own clothes and establish schools and manage their 
own affairs in their own local communities. If the people were 
left alone to go their own way they would go right and get on 
peaceably with one another. 

This was an optimistic philosophy for a simple primitive age 
of individualism, and it was well adapted to a time when the 
States and settlements were isolated from one another and each 
was sufficient for its own needs. From the time a thing was Early 
produced until it was consumed, from the birth of a citizen to his ^"^^h'*^ 
death, all the business, the social, the political hfe of each sepa- 
rate community began and ended within the limits of the State 
itself. Travel and communication were difficult; a journey 
from Boston to Philadelphia was a long and laborious undertak- 
ing; ^ the mails were slow; transporting goods was costly, and 
the activities of the people were almost entirely within their 
own States and neighborhood. When the men of 1787 were 
forming a Union and setting up governments their imaginations 
did not bring within the scope of their dreams a nation of more 
than 100,000,000 people reaching over a vast continent from sea 
to sea. 

Now the growth of the national spirit, more than a century 
of free trade among the States, the marvelous increase in facili- National umty 
ties of travel and communication, changes in city and industrial ^^j^j ^^^^ 
life, — all these have brought about entirely different conditions, industrial 
Our social problems are not so simple, our lives are more inter- °°^ ^'""^^ 

^ Read Franklin's Autobiography to see how he made this journey in the 
early part of the eighteenth century. 



78 THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 

related; all states, sections, and neighborhoods are dependent 
on one another and are welded into a single nation. So our ideas 
of the functions of government have entirely changed, or if our 
ideas have not changed our practices certainly have. For 
the doctrine that " the Government must do nothing but govern " 
we have substituted the idea that the people may do many 
things for themselves by means of their government better 
than they are likely to be done for them by private enter- 
prise. Now the Government has become a great builder of 
public works; a great financial agency; a great educational 
institution; a great benevolent institution; a great adminis- 
trator of pubUc utilities; a great protector of public rights 
and property. 

New Activities in Government 

It would be impossible to print here any adequate list of the 
new things our governments. State and national, are now 
doing for the people, or rather what the people are now doing 
for themselves by means of their governments. But let us 
look at a few of these activities. Let us consider first the 
Postal Department: 

New Activities in the Postal Department 

Rural free delivery brings the farmer's mail to his home; now 
he may get the daily paper telling him of the latest news and 
the market prices, though he may live several miles from a 
post office. The parcels post service will carry the farmer's 
produce to town for a pittance and bring him packages from 
the city store; and the postman becomes a real Santa Claus 
at Christmas time in all the cities and throughout the 
countryside. 

Postal Savings Banks (authorized in 1910) within every 
village and town will receive and safeguard the pennies and 
dimes and dollars of all who wish to save, and the Govern- 
ment will pay interest upon their savings. This encourages 



THE ENLARGING POWERS OF GOVERNMENT 



79 



thrift and economy; and, since people trust "Uncle Sam" 
more than they do private savings banks, the postal savings 
help to bring money out of hiding and put it into circulation. 
Since the Government places this money in banks under ample 
security and the banks are able to lend it for all kinds of worthy 
enterprises, the Government thus encourages business and in- 
dustry. 

By the Money Order Service for anyone who wishes to send 
money to any part of the country, the Government will receive 
money at one post office and pay it out at another. 

So we see the Post Office not only carries our letters but acts 
as an express company and as a bank for savings and exchange. 

New Activities in the Agricultural Department 

The Weather Bureau gives forecasts of the weather, giving 
warning of cold waves and heat, of frosts, rain, thunder, and 
storms. In the period of spring floods it saves thousands of 
dollars to the people by its warnings. 

The Bureau of Animal Industry seeks to save and improve 
the domestic animals of the country. It is government sci- 
ence and government agencies that stamp out the hoof-and- 
mouth disease among cattle, the cholera among hogs, and 
diseases among horses. This Government Bureau inspects 
the meats and food supply of the people and safeguards their 
interests in many ways. 

The Bureau of Plant Industry takes care of the forests and 
public lands and publishes all kinds of useful information on 
plant life in relation to agriculture. It supplies money to 
every State for an Agricultural College, for Experiment Stations, 
and it establishes Demonstration Farms where agriculture 
is taught and experiments are made which lead to improve- 
ment and progress in soil culture, crop increases, and in all 
manner of plant and vegetable culture. The Government is 
helping the farmers by sending out crop bulletins; by aid in 
locating their wells; by information on farm architecture for 



Weather 
Bureau 



Bureau of 
Animal In- 
dustry 



Bureau of 

Plant 

Industry 



8o THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 

building their barns and houses; and by pointing out ways 
of taking care of their farming machinery. 

The Government through this department will help fruit 
growers to get their crops to European and Asiatic markets 
by pointing out better methods of preservation through 
refrigeration, packing, and handling. It helps hop-growers 
by importing varieties that ripen, some earlier, some later, thus 
lengthening the harvest season for hops and barley. It helps 
protect the cotton crop by preventing the root rot, the boll- 
worm, and the boll weevil. 

The Reclamation Bureau is building vast reservoirs, canals, 
dams, and irrigating structures, in order that arid and waste 
regions may be brought under cultivation. By Irrigation 
and Drainage Investigation, carried on in a score of States, 
millions of acres of land are being reclaimed that had been 
rendered useless by alkali and similar mineral elements. 

The Department of Agriculture is not only aiding production 
in the field, but it is helping to economize and regulate con- 
sumption in the house. Domestic Science and Home Economics 
fall within the new sphere of government. Housewives may re- 
ceive from the Government recipes for cooking and canning 
and scientific and helpful information for the better regulation 
of the household. Many a farmer's wife owes her vocational 
training to the Agricultural Department of the United States 
Government. The Government Bulletins have been the text- 
books. These bulletins are in constant use in the household. 
Housewives may also rejoice that the newly organized Office 
of Markets is undertaking to systematize the handling of 
farm products "to lower the retail price of everything from 
potatoes to cherries." ^ So the Government is coming into 
the home, not merely to tax, or to interfere and annoy, but 

^ The Superintendent of Documents publishes a monthly catalogue 
listing all publications of all departments and bureaus of the Govern- 
ment. See an article in the Survey for December, 1915, on "Washington 
at Work," by Dr. Graham Taylor, 





Scientists at Work in the Dairy Laboratory, U. S. Department or 

Agriculture 




Children Woekixg in a Cannery 




Employees' Dining Room in an Industrial Establishment 



Child Welfare 



THE ENLARGING POWERS OF GOVERNMENT 8i 

to help in providing good food, good cooking, good health, 
and to promote efficiency and economy. 

The new Bureau of Child Welfare is giving forth enlighten- 
ment in community institutes for the care of children, seek- 
ing safe conditions for their employment, giving medical Bureau of 
examinations to children and advice to the mothers, and 
guarding the household against accident and disease. If 
her child is saved from a fatal diphtheria the mother may be 
thankful that the antitoxin used by the doctor was guaranteed 
by the Government. 

So we see the Department of Agriculture has grown into 
a great educational institution, with a body of more than two 
thousand trained scientists and specialists and technical 
engineers carrying on investigations and enterprises for the 
people. They search throughout the world for all kinds of 
new seeds, grains, fruits, grasses, vegetables, trees, and shrubs, 
suitable to be raised and marketed in this country. In i860 
President Buchanan vetoed a bill to appropriate land and 
money to encourage the States to establish Agricultural Col- 
leges, and another for removing obstructions to navigation 
at the mouth of the Mississippi River, both vetoes being based 
on the ground that the Federal Government was limited and 
could use Federal money only for Federal purposes. How 
far away this "old States rights school" of thought about 
national functions seems to us in these days! Now, as we 
have seen, the national Government is promoting multi- 
plied educational agencies and has become a great builder of 
public works, — of a railroad in Alaska, a canal at Panama, 
and irrigation and reclamation projects of the widest scope. 

New Activities in Other Departments 

Other departments of the Government are promoting 
similar benefits and enterprises for the people. 

In the field of education we have witnessed a similar advance 
and revolution. Before the Civil War in one half the country 



82 THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 

Education there were no public schools and in the other hah they had 

still to be defended on the ground that they were a cheap 
means of protecting the community against crime. "Now we 
act on the theory that the children in the State are the children 
of the State and that it is the duty of the State to provide for 
all these children not only protection but opportunity for 
education and improvement." ^ 

The War Department is projecting plans for opening up the 
coal fields of Alaska and conserving its other natural resources. 
The Interior Department administers a vast business in Pen- 
sions and Patents and Lands; a Geological and Topographical 
Survey gives information on mineral resources and products, 
and, in connection with its Bureau of Mines, investigates mine 
accidents and seeks to prevent them. The Department of 
Commerce exercises large and growing powers over the trade 
of the country (see p. 319), and the Department of Labor 
has established, among other agencies for the betterment of 
labor, a National Employment Bureau by which from Washing- 
ton, without fee or charge, an employer who is in need of a 
man and a man who is in need of a job may look to the Gov- 
ernment for help. This Bureau uses the facilities of the Post 
Ofiice Department and the Agricultural Department. 

This is only a partial list of the new activities of government 
that have come into operation within the last generation, which 
Congress has authorized and for which it has appropriated 
money. Congress has also created a number of important 
commissions authorized to exercise large governmental powers. 

The Interstate Commerce Commission has tremendous 
powers over the railroads and the conditions and means of 
commerce among the States. ^ 

The Currency Commission may regulate the currency of 

the country and it may inflate or contract or control the 

currency at will. 

1 Lyman Abbott, " Reminiscences," Outlook, June 23, 1915. 
^ During the period of the Great War the Government has taken con- 
trol of the Railroads. 



New National 
Commissions 



THE ENLARGING POWERS OF GOVERNMENT 



83 



The Trade Commission may inquire into what is fair or 
unfair in trade competition and may investigate trade and 
industrial difficulties and make decisions which may be re- 
viewed and reversed only by the Federal Courts. A Tariff 
Commission and a commission with a control over power sites 
are now proposed and supported by powerful interests and 
much public sentiment. 



Government Regulation for Public Welfare 

Public regulation has increased in all fields in order to pro- 
tect, preserve, and promote the public welfare. Government 
has become a partner in many lines of business and has under- 
taken to protect people in many ways formerly not thought 
to be necessary: 

I. The people must be protected against monopolies. For 
centuries English and American law had regarded monopolies 
as an evil to be prevented.^ "Competition is the life of 
trade." This maxim was thought to be sound and it was 
thought that the freedom of competition must be preserved. 
The small producers of goods essential to the people were 
being crowded out by the big producers; the big fish were 
eating up the little fish. Large combinations (Trusts) were 
formed among the larger manufacturers and business men to 
control the output and prices in many important products, — 
oil, sugar, lumber, binding twine, salt, steel, meat, etc. 
As a consequence Anti-trust laws have been demanded either 
to regulate competition by preventing dishonest customs, 
"business piracy" and "cut-throat methods," or to restore 
competition by dissolving "big business" and protecting men 
in small business from being crushed or driven out by a giant 

^ Copyrights and patents were authorized as a rightful means of 
giving an author or an inventor a monopoly ownership and control 
for a period of time of the product of his brain and genius, after which 
period the result of the work of the author and inventor should accrue 
to the benefit of society. 



New Powers of 
Restraint in 
Government 
for the People's 
Protection 



Monopolies 
and Anti- 
Trust Laws: 
"Big 
Business" 



84 THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 

combination or Trust. It is now coming to be recognized 
that a business is not to be thought of as good or bad according 
to its size but according to its methods. "Big business" is a 
natural evolution, promoted by easy means of communication 
and organization; it is not to be prevented or dissolved but 
to be regulated and compelled to use its powers of produc- 
tion and sale for the common benefit of all. This presents 
to government the whole problem of regulating trusts and 
combinations in restraint of trade. For this reason the 
Federal Trade Commission was created. 

2. The consumer must be protected against fraudulent goods 
Protecting ^^ extortionate prices. The "law of supply and demand" 

Consumers: r ^ i i t • i t i 

Pure Food of the Old pohtical economy could operate m a com- 

Laws munity where producers, consumers, sellers, and buyers all 

knew one another. Now, if a buyer is cheated or gets bad 
goods at one dealer's store, he cannot help himself by going 
to another. There the goods are likely to be the same, since 
all goods of that kind come from the same source, — the big 
supply company. The buyer cannot know personally the 
manufacturer, the wholesaler, or even the retailer, of the goods 
he buys. Producers may combine to extort unreasonable 
prices, and frauds may be practiced against which the con- 
sumer has no means of protecting himself. What can the 
buyer do when he finds the label has misled and deceived him 
as to the contents of the package? Or when the milk man or 
the butter man or the vegetable man or the coal dealer is not 
giving him fair weight and measure? There must be Pure Food 
laws to protect the people against adulteration, to regulate 
wholesale makers of food products, and there must be public 
oversight and control to protect the people in their right to a 
fair measure for a fair price. All these needs call for increased 
powers and regulations of government. Government inspection 
must be provided for in meat-packing establishments and 
dairies. Milk must not be contaminated or diluted; oleo- 
margarine must not be sold for butter; false weights and 



THE ENLARGING POWERS OF GOVERNMENT 85 

measures must be exposed by government detectives and 
agents; and cheating dealers should be punished. 

3. Investors must be protected. The buyer of securities 
— stocks and bonds — is at a disadvantage. He looks to 
government for protection. The old common law principle Protecting 
caveat emptor — "let the buyer beware" — was good enough 
in its time but not now. This meant that every buyer should 
look out for himself. If he got caught and bought worthless 
securities, he simply suffered from his own lack of shrewdness 
and got what he deserved. At any rate the law gave him no 
remedy. The State was acting somewhat on the principle, 
"Every fellow for himself and the devil take the hindmost." 
Laws based on such a theory were immoral. But now a 
more Christian and a better social sentiment prevails. People 
are demanding that they as investors shall have some standard 
of safety and honesty in the issue of securities and that the 
Government shall fix this standard and enforce it. So "Blue 
Sky Laws" have come into use in some of the States and there Laws" 
is a demand for more of them. 

A "blue sky law" is one designed to prevent a corporation 
from selling its stocks and bonds without having any real 
values behind them. Schemes are set on foot and enter- 
prises are made to look well on paper, or are over-capitalized 
with a view of unloading a lot of worthless stock on gullible 
people. Sharpers misrepresent and sell this stock to honest ' 
and unsuspecting investors, who get nothing in return but 
"blue sky." A "blue sky law" would compel a company to 
file with the auditor of State, or in some way make available 
to the public, full information as to its ofi&cers, holdings, 
assets, and operations, with penalties for misrepresentations. 
If the company were fraudulent in its operations it could be 
closed up and its officers convicted and imprisoned for the 
crime of "getting money under false pretenses." The public 
should be protected against unscrupulous sharks who practice 
"high finance." 



86 



THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 



Labor Laws 



Factory 
and 
Mine 
Inspection 



Government Regulation of Industrl\l Conditions 

A whole new field of labor legislation has come to the 
Government with the development of the factory system, 
the wage system, capitalism, and large industrial organizations 
under ''captains of industry." The Government must have 
an eye to the rate of wages, the settlement of labor disputes, 
factory laws and mine laws, the increased efficiency of the 
worker, and compensation to workmen when they are injured 
while at work. The State is, therefore, enacting laws touching 
dangerous machinery, ventilation and sanitation, fire pro- 
tection, hours of labor, "sweatshops,^ and general decency 
in labor conditions." 

The State provides agents for the inspection of factories 
and mines, and the dangerous parts about engines and 
boilers, requiring safety devices where they are needed. 
The dust and smoke and fumes of mills, especially of lead and 
paint mills, and others of a character that are likely to be in- 
jurious to the health of the workers, must be alleviated by 
higher ceilings and better air supplies. Factories are forbidden 
to employ children under a certain age and women more than 
a certain number of hours and under certain conditions. In 
New York, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Illinois, the 
four largest manufacturing States, the age for child labor has 
been fixed at fourteen, and the last does not permit the chil- 
dren to work more than a certain number of hours each day. 
On account of the poverty of many families in the factory 
towns and the need felt for the children's wages, the parents 



^ In the clothing industry the materials for garments are often taken 
from the tailoring establishments to the so-called homes of the workers 
where, in a single crowded tenement room, the whole family and other 
workers, make up the garments. Such a place is called a " sweatshop." 
Cleanliness is difficult and the work may sometimes be done in rooms 
where persons are sick with contagious diseases, a serious danger to cus- 
tomers and the public health, not to speak of the greater evil, — the 
impossibility of any decent home life for the workers. 



THE ENLARGING POWERS OF GOVERNMENT 



87 



often will not cooperate with the authorities in enforcing 
these laws but seek rather to evade them. 

Workmen's Compensation Laws provide for paying some 
compensation to workingmen for injuries received while at 
their toil. Fully 75,000 persons are killed every year in Ameri- 
can industries and many more have been injured. A work- 
man's injury may result from his own carelessness or by the 
carelessness of a co-laborer, or from that of his employer, 
— that is, from the condition of the shop and tools of his work, 
or from his having been kept at work over hours. Whatever 
the cause, a Workmen's Compensation Act is intended to have 
the facts ascertained and damages awarded by some fair 
standard without the necessity of a lawsuit against the em- 
ployers or corporation on the part of the workman, or one of 
his family if the workman be killed. 

A commission ascertains the extent of the injury and fLxes 
the award, while the workmen agree to limit the amount of 
damages to rates fixed in the act. Under compensation 
laws the award is made upon evidence and by due process 
"made and provided," without expense to the injured work- 
man or his family. 

In case of industrial disputes between employers and 
labor unions Boards of Arbitration are provided whose duty 
it is, in cases of strikes and lockouts, to investigate the situa- 
tion and try to bring about a peaceable settlement. These 
industrial disputes, when they result in strikes or lockouts, putes 
cost vast sums of money to workmen and employers, said to 
exceed $200,000,000 a year in America. Arbitration is gen- 
erally voluntary between the labor unions and the employers' 
associations, under what is called a " trade agreement," cover- 
ing wages and hours of labor, apprenticeships, and other con- 
ditions. When a dispute arises it goes automatically before 
a joint committee of the two bodies, which is usually able to 
come to some compromise agreement. A disinterested labor 
expert may be called in to aid in these adjustments, and if no 



Workmen's 

Compensation 

Laws 



Settlement of 
Industrial Dis- 



88 



THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 



Public Service 
Corporations 



" Natural 
MonoDlies ' 



decision satisfactory to both sides can be arrived at an appeal 
may be taken to an Arbitration Board. The Government 
seeks to encourage such arbitration, as prolonged "labor 
wars " have led to considerable demand for compulsory arbi- 
tration. In some labor disputes, as on railways and street 
car Hnes, the pubhc has vital mterests at stake. It is felt 
that the settlement or prevention of such troubles should not 
be left entirely to the parties in dispute. When the pubhc 
interests and the peace and order of the community are inter- 
fered with by private quarrels the state has a right to compel 
the disputants to come into court to have their differences 
settled by an impartial judicial tribunal. 

Government Control of Public Utilities 

A Public Service Corporation is one that is chartered or 
authorized for the purpose of rendering some important public 
service, such as furnishing light, water, heat, transportation, 
or communication for the people. Private capital may be 
invested in such enterprises, but such corporations may not 
be managed merely for private interests. They use the public 
streets, alleys, and highways, and such use gives value to their 
plant, while the life of the city is their chief asset. The 
public is interested in good service and fair rates. In modern 
life, especially in cities, people must have telephones, and gas 
for cooking, and electric lights, and means of travel and 
transportation, and water from the city mains. These are all 
public utilities, — they are public in their character and are 
not only useful but almost indispensable. 

The business of furnishing any of these things is a 
natural monopoly, — from the nature of the business there 
should be but one company for each enterprise. Whether 
there be two or more in the beginning, there will be but 
one in the long run. Private interest if not public interest 
will lead to combination. It is foolish to have two tele- 
phone companies in a city; much better and cheaper service 



THE ENLARGING POWERS OF GOVERNMENT 



89 



The Public 
Utilities Com- 
mission 



can be had from one. Two or more water companies or gas 
companies should not be allowed to tear up the city streets; 
one does enough of that. If the city or State does not itself 
furnish these necessary conveniences for the people, then the 
State, acting for the public through a Public Utilities Com- 
mission, should regulate and control the private corporations 
that are authorized to do so. The public have a right to 
compel such companies to treat all patrons alike, to fix fair 
rates, and to keep the service at a suitable and contract 
standard. The rates that are paid are like taxes, since the 
service cannot be dispensed with, and by having to pay 
these rates the whole public are contributors to the profits 
of the corporation. The public, while seeking to do justice 
to the corporation, should share both in the control and the 
profits. Many cities receive large returns in revenues from the 
franchises granted to these public service corporations and v 

from their operations. (See p. 132.) 

Growth of National Powers at Expense of State 

PO'WERS 

In all this growth in governmental powers there has been 
a constant and increasing tendency toward the enlargement 
of national powers at the expense of the States. The national 
government is urged to go still further in its powers of regu- 
lating commerce and in its investigation and control of indus- 
trial disputes. It is urged further to regulate railway rates 
and express companies; to supervise life insurance; to enact 
a national divorce law and national prohibition of the liquor 
traffic; to provide national trade mark legislation; a national 
child labor law; the erection of a national university; the ^® ^'^*^ 

Powers to be 

deflection of immigrants and the control of their settlement preserved? 
in the right parts of the country; a national quarantine law; 
the national control of fisheries and oyster beds within the 
waters of a State; to appropriate funds for local benefits and 
to exercise national inspection, supervision, and control over 



90 



THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 



State Neglect 

and 

Inefficiency 

Tends to the 

Increase of 

Ni^tional 

Powers 



the local domestic affairs of the people in many other ways. 
The various national commissions and powers that we have 
described indicate the extent of this growth of Federal activity 
and control. So noticeable has this been in recent years that 
the fear has been expressed that local self-government and the 
powers of the States will eventually be swallowed up in one all- 
embracing Federal power. Old " States' rights" loyalty is fad- 
ing away, and even the States of the South that were the most 
devoted to that doctrine are willingly accepting the exercise of 
more and more national functions. The reason for it is that 
the people are willing to let the national Government pay for 
enterprises within the States and, besides, they feel that what 
the national Government undertakes is sure to be more effi- 
ciently done than if it were left to the States, and the more 
efficient States wish protection against the negligence of others. 
They feel that tJncle Sam has a way of enforcing the law and 
getting things done. The illicit Hquor seller, who runs his 
"blind tiger" or "bootlegging" trade in defiance of State law 
would not dare to run a week without a Federal license. 

It is now for the States to decide whether this tendency 
shall proceed. Will they give their own people more efficient 
government while recognizing their obligation to the nation 
as a whole? "No State can live unto itself alone." It must 
regulate its affairs with reference to its sister States. 



"If any State is maintaining laws which afford opportunity for 
practices condemned by the public sense of the whole country, or 
laws which, through the operation of our modern system of communi- 
cation and business, are injurious to the interests of the whole country, 
that State is violating the conditions upon which alone its power 
can be preserved. If any State maintains laws which promote and 
foster the enormous overcapitalization of corporations condemned 
by the people of the country generally; if any State maintains laws 
designed to make easy the formation of trusts and the creation of 
monopohes; if any State maintains laws which permit conditions of 
child labor revolting to the sense of mankind; if any State maintains 



THE ENLARGING POWERS OF GOVERNMENT 91 

laws of marriage and divorce so far inconsistent with the general 
standard of the nation as to violently derange the domestic relations 
which the majority of the States desire to preserve, that State is 
promoting the tendency of the people of the country to seek relief 
through the national Government an,d the extinction of local con- 
trol. ... It is useless for the advocates of States Rights to inveigh 
against the extension of National authority in the fields of necessary 
control when the States themselves fail in the performance of their 
duty. The instinct for self-government among the people of the 
United States is too strong to permit them long to respect any 
one's right to exercise a power which he fails to exercise. The 
governmental control which they deem just and necessary they will 
have. It may be that such control would better be exercised in par- 
ticular instances by the governments of the States, but the people 
will have the control they need either from the States or from the 
National Government; and if the States fail to furnish it in due 
measure, sooner or later constructions of the Constitution wUi be 
found to vest the power where it will be exercised, — • in the national 
Government. The true and only way to preserve State authority is 
to be found in the awakened conscience of the States, their broadened 
views and higher standard of responsibility to the general public; 
in effective legislation by the States in conformity to the general 
moral sense of the country; and in the vigorous exercise for the 
general public good of that State authority which is to be preserved." ^ 

As we have seen the powers of government are everywhere 
increasing. After all, is " the government best which governs 
least" ? One might think as he noticed this vast increase of ]f^^ 

° Govenunent 

governmental powers that a knowledge of them would make best which 
the bones of Jefferson and the early fathers rattle in their po^ems 

•' -' Least " under 

graves, except as one reflects that if the fathers could see the a Government 
new conditions they would be quite sure to consent to the new ^^ ^^ People? 
arrangements. The governments of Europe which Jefferson 
knew, had been chiefly a burden upon the people, imposing 
taxes upon them and interfering with their rights, interests, 

^ Elihu Root, address in Reinsch's Readings in American Federal 
Government, pp. 735-736. 



92 THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 

and actions. But under a "government of the people, for the 
people, and by the people," government has become not an 
oppressive agency apart from the people, but a benevolent 
agency for the cooperation of the people in working out what 
they wish to do together. It is the people's government which 
they mean to use in whatever way will best promote their 
common good and common interests. This growth in democ- 
racy, together with the notable changes in industrial life, will 
account in large measure for the great growth in govern- 
mental powers and governmental problems which our country 
has witnessed in recent years. The people are undertaking 
to do more for themselves and they are using their State and 
National governments for this purpose. 

REFERENCES 

Beard, C. A. American Government and Politics, Chap. XXXII, 

pp. 721-753, "Social and Economic Legislation." 
Beard, C. A. Readings in American Government and Politics, pp. 

475-478, "Evils of Over-legislation." 
Bulletin, U. S. Department of Labor, No. Ill, Hunt, W. C, "Workers 

at Gainful Occupations." 
Guitteau, William B. Government and Politics in the United States, 

Chap. XII, pp. 129-139, "The Police Power"; Chaps. XIV and 

XV, pp. 151-171, "Public Charities," "Control of Economic 

Interests." Note the "Questions and Exercises." 
Hart, A. B. Actual Government, pp. 481-534, "Commercial Functions." 
Holt, Lucius H. Introduction to the Study of Government, Chap. XII, 

pp. 285-305, "Optional Functions of Government." 
Reinsch, Paul S. Readings on American Federal Government, pp. 774- 

802, "Centralization and New Fields for Federal Power." 
Roosevelt, Theodore. The New Nationalism. 
Young, James T. The New American Government and Its Work, Chaps. 

XVIII-XXII, pp. 342-441, "The State and Its Work." Also 

several chapters on the Powers of Congress. 

TOPICS AND QUERIES 

1. Why did Jefferson think that "the government is best which governs 

least" but would not likely think that now if he were alive? 

2. In what sense may principles of government be considered perma- 

nent while policies of government must be adapted to circum- 
stances? 



THE ENLARGING POWERS OF GOVERNMENT 93 

3. In what sense is the Government a cooperative agency? 

4. If the majority can rule and workingmen are in the majority, why 

do they not control the Government? Would that be " class legis- 
lation " ? Is that desirable? 

5. Debate: "Resolved that public utilities should be under public 

control and ownership." 

6. Debate: "Resolved that National Powers should continue to in- 

crease and State powers decrease." 



CHAPTER IV 



THE COMMUNITY AND THE CITIZEN: 
GOVERNMENT 



LOCAL 



Government in 
America began 
Socially in 
Settlements 
and Plantations 



History and Development or Local Government 

Government began in America in the settlement, usually- 
called a colony. It was sometimes called a " town" or a "plan- 
tation." "In the name of God, Amen," began the compact 
signed in the cabin of the Mayflower by the Pilgrim Fathers, by 
which they agreed to live together in order and under authority. 
They wished to prevent the "discontented and mutinous" 
from "using their liberty" too much to the detriment of all 
the rest. When "every man does what is right in his own 
eyes," as some of the people wished to do who were coming to 
America, trouble is likely to arise because some men's eyes 
see evil and they follow what they see and like. The com- 
munity sense and the common welfare have to decide as to 
the limits of men's rights and conduct. So the first settlers in 
their local community in Massachusetts, or down in Virginia, 
combined themselves together into a "civill body politick" 
to "frame such just and equal laws, from time to time, as shall 
be thought most meete and convenient for the general good of 
the Colonie, unto which we promise all due submission and 
obedience." ^ 

Other settlements, or colonies, were made on lands granted 
by the crown. The people came as townsmen, in families 
from certain neighborhoods, and they settled in towns, to 
which they often gave the names of the places from which 
they came, — Boston, Ipswich, Plymouth, Dorchester. Their 
settlements were sometimes managed and their officers elected 

1 Mayflower Compact. 
94 



COMMUNITY AND CITIZEN: LOCAL GOVERNMENT 95 



by commercial corporations whose ruling heads remained 
in England. Later all governing powers were transferred 
to the colonies. In each of the colonies there soon came 
to be other local towns and settlements. Then as the settle- 
ments and population increased and because they had common 
interests and common dangers and needed common laws the 
several towns within a New England colonycame to elect repre- 
sentatives to a Council or Assembly to act with the Gov- 
ernor in making and administering the laws according to the 
terms of the charter, or constitution, which the home Govern- 
ment had granted. The first assembly in Virginia, which was 
also the first representative assembly in America, was con- 
vened by Governor Yeardley in 1619, and consisted "of two 
Burgesses out of every Town, Hundred, or other particular 
Plantation, to be respectively chosen by the Inhabitants.'' 
Thus began representative government in America, and thus 
came about, through a sort of cooperation or federation of 
the towns or settlements, the Colony Government which 
afterwards became the State Government. 

The colony government soon came to exercise authority 
over the towns in general State matters, but the latter always 
retained entire control over their local affairs, and in some 
colonies, such as Connecticut and Rhode Island, the colony 
government was looked upon more as a federation of towns 
than as a superior authority. This indicates the manner of 
growth or the evolution of government in America, the towns 
federating to make the State, the States federating to make 
the nation. So, as we see from the history of the colonies, 
the beginnings of our government were local. We had local 
self-government in our system at the start, and we still retain 
it in our habits and our blood. 

In 1776 the thirteen original colonies in America, each having 
its own local government, united to resist what they deemed 
unjust laws and because they wished to continue to govern 
themselves in all their domestic or community affairs. They 



Local 

Government 
developed into 
State 
Government 



Local Self- 
government is 
retained while 
State and 
National 
Governments 
are developed 



g6 THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 

fought for their independence from Great Britain and after 
achieving it they were known as States or Commonwealths. 
These States then formed "a more perfect union" and under this 
firm union they have grown into the larger community, known 
as the Nation, the United States of America. 

From first to last through all this growth from primitive 

settlements to a great nation the people of America have 

Community lived in civil communities. They have expanded from sea 

Civics: National . , ... 

and World-wide to sea in the Same way, by new community settlements m 
the West, until we now have forty-eight States organized 
under community life with various kinds of local civil 
communities. All these communities, large and small, offer 
a variety of "community civics," in the neighborhood, school 
district, township, county, village, city, town. State, nation. 
And the nation is now reaching out to embrace in its in- 
fluence for good the world-community. America is one of a 
family of nations. The whole world is the field of civics and 
international affairs, and the great questions of world war 
and world peace were never more important to America than 
they are to-day. 

Forms of Local Government 

Each State provides its own forms of local government. 
They are essentially the same throughout the country, the 
differences that exist being due chiefly to the historical con- 
ditions under which the different sections of the country were 
settled. In New England we have the town system; in 
Virginia and the South the county system; in the Middle and 
Western sections a combination of these which may be called 
the county-township system, or the mixed system. 

The Town 

The New England town is the oldest of our political com- 
munities. The places of settlement were found in a natural 
but irregular way, somewhat as a cow finds pasturage, the 



«?*-* 



~-^^*'''^!SffMsu%r!i;rw-^:s! 



vvwprwvii^v 





A New England Town Hall 




A New England Common 



,'.'-''^ii]iini' 





County Coue.t House, Memphis, Tennessee 




County Court House, Mobile, Alabama 



COMMUNITY AND CITIZEN: LOCAL GOVERNMENT 97 

people wandering to the lands that suited them best. The 
town is usually irregular in shape and in area, and may- 
contain a few hundred people or it may have a population of 
more than 100,000, as the villages grow into cities.^ 

The town manages the schools, the roads, the bridges, 
the care of the poor, the lighting and paving of streets, etc. 
It acts as the agent of the State in carrying out State policies 
and State laws, assessing and collecting the State taxes and "^"^^ 
administering health and police laws, and, except in Massa- and Town 
chusetts, it remains as it was from the first, the district or unit Meeting 
for electing a representative to the legislature. The govern- 
ment of the early New England town was very democratic. 
The settlers (heads of families) came together in a town meeting 
to select their officers ("selectmen") and to decide on all 
matters of local government. These town meetings are still 
held annually in New England, usually in the spring, due notice 
being given by the selectmen. At these meetings the qualified 
voters, with a moderator presiding and the town clerk acting 
as secretary, decide on questions of taxes, improvements, 
schools, highways, etc. The town officers make their reports 
for the year, and estimates and plans are submitted for the 
following year. These are discussed and passed upon and 
new officers are elected for the year. The officers are Selectmen 
who have general administrative charge of the town, the clerk 
to keep the records and statistics, the treasurer, assessors 
and collectors of taxes, constables, school committees, highway 
officers, overseers of the poor, and library and cemetery 
trustees. Everything is in the hands of the local community, 
whose officers are responsible for yearly accounts of their 
stewardship. In these town meetings spirited discussions 
arise, as any voter may introduce any resolution he pleases 
and defend it against all comers. Every proposal is criticized 
and scrutinized and a lively interest in public affairs is culti- 

^ New Haven, Connecticut, still retains its town government, though 
it has a separate city government, too. 



98 THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 

vated. It was in such meetings that Samuel Adams, John 
Adams, James Otis, Josiah Quincy, and other New England 
leaders had their training for citizenship and statesmanship. 
This form of local government in the town, by mass meet- 
ing and public debate, is not now so easily conducted as in 
Decline of the j^ore primitive times. Cities have arisen within the limits of 

Town Meeting ....,, 

the towns; immigration has brought a more heterogeneous 
population; there are clashes between factory interests and 
farm interests; modern machine and caucus methods have 
been introduced; the voters are too numerous to be accom- 
modated in a single hall, and for these reasons, though the 
town organization is still retained in many places of con- 
siderable size, in many of the larger cities the popular meeting 
has given way to a municipal organization or a representative 
city council. 

The County 

The county arose in the South. The planters lived far 
apart and governmental areas covering considerable territory 
arose, after the manner of the counties in England. It was 
a civil division of the colony, or State, for judicial or adminis- 
trative purposes. The county's functions increased and it 
finally came to have charge of most of the local affairs, — 
schools, poorhouses, jails, courthouses, highways, bridges. 

Counties vary in size and population in various States. A 
small county in Rhode Island has about twenty-five square miles, 
a large one in New York over 2800 square miles. A thinly 
populated county in Texas may have 500 people, a thickly 
populated one in New York over 2, 000, 000. '^ In Delaware 
there are three counties; in Texas there are 244, while in 
other States the numbers range between these figures. In New 
England the counties are not numerous. In Massachusetts, 
with over 3,360,000 people, there are only fourteen counties. 

1 When cities arise within a county their local affairs are managed 
by a separate city government. 



COMMUNITY AND CITIZEN: LOCAL GOVERNMENT 99 



The County 
Officers and 
their Functions 



The New England county was originally only a collection 
of towns for judicial purposes, — a convenient district for 
holding civil and criminal courts, and the county officers were 
merely officers of the court, — as clerk, sheriff, constable. 
As a local governing body the county was altogether sub- 
ordinate or unimportant. In the South and West more local 
government came to the county, and the county became the 
unit of representation in the legislature and the State agent 
in collecting State taxes and executing State laws. A Board 
of County Commissioners — usually three men — has charge 
of the business and buildings of the county, deciding on 
improvements, purchasing of supplies, making contracts, ap- 
propriating money, issuing bonds, licenses, etc. The Com- 
missioners are to the county what the legislature is to the 
State, except that the Board of Commissioners is an adminis- 
trative rather than a legislative body; it acts under the law 
and administers affairs for the county as the legislature 
directs, but the interests of the county are in the hands of 
the commissioners so far as local powers extend. The Com- 
missioners are elected by the voters, either in districts of the 
county or at large. 

The County has a number of other officers: Auditor, Clerk, 
Treasurer, Sheriff, Coroner, Recorder, Superintendent of 
Schools, Prosecuting Attorney, the latter being in some in- 
stances the public prosecutor for a circuit of counties. 

The Sheriff is the most important executive officer of the 
county. He is usually elected by the voters for terms ranging 
from one to four years. He is charged with the duty of keeping 
the peace, attending upon the court and carrying out its orders. 
He may have to hang a criminal, to seize property and sell it for '^^® Sheriff 
taxes, or to carry out a judgment of the court, to arrest offend- 
ers and put them in jail, or to defend a prisoner against a mob, 
or to preserve order and protect property in times of strikes 
and riots. He may appoint deputies to assist him, or in times 
of emergency he may summon the bystanders, or the posse 



100 



THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 



The County 
Clerk 



The County 
Auditor 



comitatus, which consists of the able-bodied male citizens of 
Jiis county, and it then becomes the duty of every such citizen 
to aid the sheriff in executing the laws and maintaining the 
power and dignity of the State; or he may request the Governor 
to send the State militia to his aid if the violators of the laws 
are too powerful to be overcome by local means. 

The County Clerk acts both as Secretary of the Board of 
County Commissioners, to keep the minutes of the business, 
and as a clerk to the Circuit or County Court to keep a record 
of all court proceedings. The clerk's office should contain a 
record of all county contracts, bids for public buildings, election 
notices, marriage licenses, saloon licenses, the docket of cases 
to be brought to trial, warrants and writs issued and judgments 
entered, and all papers and records which the court wishes to 
file.^ The county clerks are usually election officers, whose 
duty it is to give notice of elections, take charge of the ballots, 
and keep election records. The county clerks are usually 
elected by the voters for varying terms in different States — 
from one to four years — but in some States they are appointed 
by the Judge of the court. 

The County Treasurer receives and takes care of the county 
funds. For the safety of these funds he is usually placed 
under bond to insure the county against' loss because of any 
malfeasance or incompetency of the treasurer. Many States 
now provide that the public funds shall be deposited in ap- 
proved banks under security, the interest accruing therefrom 
to come to the public treasury. The Treasurer's office in a 
populous county is very lucrative if the Treasurer is allowed to 
retain for himself the interest he receives from the banks on 
public deposits. The county Treasurers are usually elected 
by popular vote. 

The Auditor is the accountant of the county. His books 
are intended to check up the accounts of the Treasurer's 

^ In some States the clerk for the Commissioners and the clerk for 
the judicial court are two different officers. 



COMMUNITY AND CITIZEN: LOCAL GOVERNMENT lOI 

oflfice and other offices. The Auditor issues the warrants 
on the Treasurer for the payment of all bills, and his books 
should show all expenditures and receipts of pubUc money. 
Some States provide for State accountants to inspect and 
correct the books of the counties. In many counties the 
Auditors, elected by popular vote, may often be good cam- 
paigners in getting votes, but not competent bookkeepers 
and the public accounts, upon inspection by experts, are 
found to be in confusion, even where no dishonesty has 
been intended. 

The County Recorder has charge of the legal records of the '^^^ County 

■^ 1 • Recorder 

county, — the deeds, mortgages, leases, releases, etc. He is 
sometimes called Register of Deeds. Sales of, and mortgage 
claims to, real estate must be made a matter of public record 
in indexed volumes, in order that the ownership of property 
may be readily traced. 

The County Superintendent of Schools has general oversight ^^® county 
of the public schools of the county — not so much of the of Schools 
schools in the cities and incorporated towns within a county 
which have their own superintendents, but. chiefly of the 
rural schools. He examines teachers, issues licenses to teach, 
visits the schools, directs county and township teachers' 
institutes, makes statistical reports of the county schools to 
the State Superintendent of Public Instruction, and, in general, 
seeks to promote public education in the county. In some 
States he is elected by popular vote, in others by county boards 
of education, consisting of Township Trustees, or local school 
officers. 

The County Coroner has for his chief duty the holding of JJ^^^^""""*^ 
inquests upon the bodies of persons whose death may have 
been caused by violence or unlawful means. In such cases it 
is his duty to hold, not a trial, but an inquiry, and for this 
purpose he may summon a jury, and such witnesses as may 
be able to testify, and may have medical examination made 
in order to ascertain the cause of death. The Coroner 



102 THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 

is usually elected by popular vote. As a rule he succeeds 
to the office of Sheriff in case of a vacancy in that office. 

A County Surveyor is provided for in some States to make 
surveys of land and highways. 

The County-township System 

The County -township system is a mixed or compromise 
system of local government, between the Southern county 
and the New England town. The township of the Middle 
West, which corresponds, in a way, to the town of New 
England, had its beginning in the Ordinance of 1785, which 
provided for the survey and sale of western lands ceded to 
the United States by the several States that had claim to 
The Land Sys- these lands. By this Ordinance the public domain in the 
Concessional ^^^ Northwcst was divided, or surveyed, into townships, 
Township each six miles square, each township containing 36 sections 

of 640 acres each, a section being a mile square. This system 
enabled the settlers, or "homesteaders," to locate their 
claims with ease and accuracy, the sections being located by 
north and south lines or ranges. Each section is easily sub- 
divided into tracts of 320, 160, 80, and 40 acres. It was the 
Ordinance of 1785 which provided that one section (the six- 
teenth, near the center) in every township should be reserved, 
to be afterwards sold for the support of public schools. This 
was the basis of the Congressional Township School Fund 
for these States, a rich legacy for school purposes. It was 
also provided that a whole township in each State to be subse- 
quently admitted to the Union should be reserved for a univer- 
sity. This became the early support for the State Universities 
of the Northwest, where the great State Universities took 
their rise. 

As new States were formed in the Northwest the county 
plan of local government was first adopted, owing to the 
scattered population and because the earliest settlers were 
largely from the South. But as the township laid out by the 



COMMUNITY AND CITIZEN: LOCAL GOVERNMENT 103 

Congressional survey was recognized for school purposes it 
was made a political or civil unit in the local government of 
these States, for the purpose of attending to local schools, 
building roads, caring for the poor, and preserving order by 
means of justices of the peace and constables. The township 
government grew up about the local schoolhouse as that of 
the New England town about the church. The school dis- 
tricts in the western township grew in number as the township 
grew in population. Later settlers coming to the West from 
New England and the Middle States (New York, Pennsylvania, 
New Jersey), following lines of latitude, as a rule, settled in 
Michigan, Wisconsin, Iowa, Northern Indiana, and Illinois. 
These had been used to the town system of local government. 
The New York system of town (or township) Supervisors 
made these town officers members of a county board for super- 
vising county affairs. The Pennsylvania system emphasized 
the county as the basic unit for local government. It sub- 
ordinated the township and provided for a Board of County 
Commissioners to take care of county affairs, elected by the 
county at large or in a district of townships. These two 
systems came into the West, one type prevailing in the northern 
tier of Western States and the other in the Southern tier, 
and in most of the Western States the'y are now combined into 
what is called the county-township system. That is, both the 
county and the township are used as important agencies in local 
government. 

The Township Trustee, or Supervisor, is one of the most Township 
important of local officers. He is the business manager of 
the Township, has charge of its funds, and, in some States, 
may levy assessments, appoint teachers for the rural schools 
of the township, and is overseer of the poor and of the 
business of poor relief. Some States provide for a Town- 
ship Board to levy taxes and control expenditures and 
Township Assessors and Clerks to attend to the duties 
related to such ofl&ces. 



104 



THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 



Importance of 

Rural 

Government 



Road Building 
and the State 



Benefits or Local Government 

In spite of the great and rapid growth of cities in America, 
the majority of our people still live in rural communities. 
There may still be found the more stable elements of our people, 
the " bone and sinew of the land." From the country come the 
best lives and the best blood for the up-building of our cities. 
Good government for our rural townships is as important as 
good government for our cities. The improvement in country 
schools, the growth of libraries, agricultural extension courses, 
Chautauqua courses, neighborhood meetings and community 
festivals, civic clubs and their discussions, farmers' institutes 
and the county agricultural agents, — all these influences 
are arousing a new civic life in the rural districts. The demand 
is rising that the taxes which the farmers pay for good roads 
and good schools and good government should show in the 
actual presence of these benefits. The movement for good 
roads illustrates the new growth of a vigorous civic spirit. 

Road building as a public enterprise has been a wasteful 
extravagance in the past. Roads were formerly left to private 
enterprise or to local enterprise. Now it is coming to be recog- 
nized that road building is the business of the State and the 
nation. The old private turnpike, with its toll gate, at which 
toll was collected for every trip to town, is now only a lingering 
memory. In some States the county and township still have 
charge of road building and road improvement. Many 
States have not yet taken hold of this problem; they have 
established no public policy, no engineering plan, no rural high- 
ways or best routes. The State always has the power by the 
exercise of the right of eminent domain (a sovereign right of the 
State) to determine through one of its courts a reasonable price 
to be paid for private property and then to condemn this prop- 
erty for public use, if the owners refuse to sell it to the public 
at a price fixed by fair referees or umpires. In this way the 
State may lay out a road and private interests must give way. 



COMMUNITY AND CITIZEN: LOCAL GOVERNMENT 105 



Road making has now become a science. Farmers used to 
be allowed to "work out their road taxes" by a certain number 
of days' labor, with or without teams. It was slip-shod work; 
the roads were often made worse rather than better. It is 
now recognized that the cities and the richer portions of the 
State should help the poorer sections in the building of roads. 
The whole State is interested in the avenues connecting its 
several parts, facilitating transportation and communication. 
Roads to the State are like the arteries to the human body. 
There should be cooperation between locality and State, the 
county and township receiving from the State treasury money 
aid somewhat in proportion to what the local district is able 
and willing to pay. 

With good roads and good schools and other agencies for 
moral and civic education the rural communities will insist 
on law and order and good government. If every man sweeps 
the front of his own dooryard, the city will be clean. So if 
the country people can govern themselves well in every town- 
ship in the land the nation will be well taken care of. But if, 
on the other hand, the people have not enough force, intel- 
ligence, and patriotism to take care of their own taxes and 
improvements and to provide for themselves good local 
officers for the sake of honest and decent government near their 
own homes they will not do much good in helping to govern the 
nation at large. 

As the city depends on the country for its foodstuffs and 
supplies, so the country people depend on the cities for many 
of their conveniences and means of living. The trolley cars 
and telephones and mail orders are managed in the cities and 
most of the supplies and nearly all the wearing apparel of the 
country people are made in the great factories and are put 
up in the big supply houses of the cities. We are all interested 
alike in the good government, the state of taxes, and the 
conditions of labor in the great centers of population. The 
prices and the quality of goods bought, and the health of 



Good 

Government in 
the Nation 
depends on 
Good Local 
Government 



Connection 
between 
Country and 
City 



I06 THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 

the consumers, may depend on these things. Railway rates; 
the conditions at grade crossings; telephone charges; the 
control of trusts; the kind of money we have; interest rates 
on farm mortgages (mostly held in cities) ; whether banks and 
trust companies are well managed; whether transportation is 
easy or difScult; whether wheat is "cornered," or meat prices 
fixed by combinations, — in all these things the farmers are 
just as much interested as city people. Most of these things 
depend, in large measure, on honest and faithful government, 
on whether or not the officers act for the benefit of a few or for 
the welfare of all. Therefore the farmers should be constantly 
and vitally interested in matters relating to taxes, roads, 
illiteracy and crime, poverty, the evils of the saloon, health 
laws, causes of disease, conditions among foreign laborers, 
freight and passenger rates, reforestation, and the use of 
waste lands. Rural voters and city voters are mutually 
interested and they should act together to work for progress 
and betterment in all these respects. 
^""■^^ In these days of modern improvements, of better roads, 

Commuttlty . ... 

Centers of easier travel and communication, with the rural telephones, 

automobiles, and electric railways, there is a tendency to 
organize community centers in the country. In some States 
and counties the farming people live in villages or small 
centers of population and they go out to manage their farms 
in the day, which may be several miles away. In this way 
the farmers' families escape isolation and may enjoy the 
social life and the better educational opportunities that may 
come from the neighborhood group. School districts may be 
united, and the country children may be brought to school 
from long distances and taken back home by public con- 
veyances at the least possible expense; a good high school 
may be established; circulating libraries may be maintained; 
playgrounds and healthy recreations for the country boys 
and girls may be promoted; the gangs of "toughs" may be 
restrained; public utilities — lighting and water — may be 
















A RC-U) BEFORE AND AFTER IiIPRO\'EMENT 



COMMUNITY AND CITIZEN: LOCAL GOVERNMENT 107 

better supplied; entertainments, public meetings, addresses 
and exhibitions, folk dances and moving picture shows may 
be enjoyed, and all kinds of social and public activities may 
be better exercised. It is proposed that the community 
center may be made the means of organizing a cooperative 
enterprise for buying and selling among country people. 
The schoolhouse, even where there are not populous villages, 
may become the social center where mutual benefits may be 
enjoyed and where the light may shine for all. Village 
conditions may be improved; a ''clean-up week" may put 
the streets and sidewalks and yards in better shape; tumble- 
down shanties and outhouses may be removed, noxious weeds 
cut down, and farm homes and the countryside may be 
beautified; and thus the attractions and good government in 
rural life may make the country the most desirable of all places 
in which to live. 

TOPICS AND PROBLEMS 

For "original research" in "Community Civics" the student may be 
asked to report on some such inquiry as the following: 

1. What have political parties to do with local community affairs? 

2. How are the taxes assessed, collected, and expended? Do all persons 

in the community pay taxes? Why? 

3. How may the smoke and dirt nuisance be abated in the city? or the 

roadside or school grounds be beautified in the country? 

4. How should the local press help to promote the welfare of the com- 

munity? What other agencies may be used for community 
betterment? 

5. What need is there in your community for better housing? 

6. LIow does the State help the local community in protecting life and 

property? 

7. How can public spirit be cultivated in a community? Or, how can 

more citizens be induced to take an interest in public affairs 
from unselfish public motives? 

8. Debate: "Resolved that local self-government is more important 

and beneficial to the people than the growth of national powers." 

9. In what ways is the election of a Township Trustee or a County 

Commissioner more important to the people than the election of 
the President of the United States? 

10. How may a "community center" be of service to the community? 

How can you help the " center "? 



lo8 THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 

The teacher should make up a set of questions especially adapted 
to the county and township in which the school is located, such as, 
In what county do yon live? What is the origin of its name? What 
are its leading industries? Its population? Its area? Its boundaries? 
Its county seat? What counties border upon it? What county in 
the State has the largest area? The smallest? What is the debt of 
your county? The tax rate in your county, etc.? See Clark's Out- 
lines of Civics. 

REFERENCES 

Ashley, Roscoe L. The American Federal State, Chap. 20, pp. 386-402. 
Beard, C. A. American Government and Politics, Chap. 29, pp. 638- 

655. "Local Rural Government." 
Beard, C. A. Readings in American Government and Politics, Chap. 29, 

PP- 556-566. 
Bryce, James. American Commonwealth, Vol. I, Chap. 48, pp. 596-616. 
Clark, Frederick H. Outlines of Civics, Chap. XVI, pp. 146-163. 

Topics and Questions on "Local Institutions." 
Fairlie, John A. Local Government in Counties, Towns and Villages. 

A volume of 272 pages on local government. 
Fiske, John. Civil Government, Chaps. Ill, IV, and pp. 48-98. 
Forman, S. E. Advanced Civics, Chaps. 26-28, pp. 195-214. 
Guitteau, William B. Government and Politics in the U. S., Chaps. 
II and III, pp. 14-37. "Origin, Structure and Functions of Local 
Rural Government." 
Hart, A. B. Actual Government, Chap. 10, pp. 167-179, "Local 
Government in Action." 

In "Community Civics" the student must find his references 
in the civil life of the community. He may not only study real com- 
munity life as it is, but he may become a useful part in that life. For 
suggestions and topics, apart from this text-book, consult the fol- 
lowing : 

A. W. Dunn's The Community and the Citizen. 

Hughes, R. O., "Community Civics" (1918). 

Public Service is a leaflet published weekly (50 cents a year, 51 
Chambers Street, New York) which gives vital suggestions on cur- 
rent questions and civic problems. Equity, published quarterly, 
50 cents per year (1520 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia), is "devoted 
to improved processes of self-government and whatever methods tend 
to increase efficiency and democratic control in national, state, and 
city government." 

The publications of the "American Civic Association" deal with 
city planning and community life, in town and country, and they may 
be had for prices from 5 cents to 25 cents (914 Union Trust Building, 
Washington, D. C). 



COMMUNITY AND CITIZEN: LOCAL GOVERNMENT 109 

A Handbook of Civic Improvement, by Hermann G. James, and 
Bulletin No. 28, U. S. Bureau of Education on "The Social Studies in 
Secondary Education." 

Further treatment of community civics is found in the chapters 
of this text on "City Government," "The Citizen: His Rights and 
Duties," "Present-day Problems in Democracy." Ample refer- 
ences follow these chapters. For "How to obtain Further Informa- 
tion," see p. 397. 



CHAPTER V 
CITY GOVERNMENT 

The city is the village grown large. How large must it be 
to make a city? The United States Census Bureau recognizes 
a population of 8000 as the necessary minimum. Some States 
will incorporate a population of 1000, within a limited area, 
and make it a legal city; others require 5000. As the city 
grows in population its government becomes more complex 
and special provision is needed for it. It cannot be governed 
by a gathering of its voters, like a town meeting. It must 
have a special charter (or some provision of law), organizing 
its government, conferring upon it special powers and privi- 
leges, providing for certain ofi&cers and public boards and 
defining their duties. 

A multitude of affairs and problems have come upon the 

. city which the towns and rural districts have never known, and 

city government has become so difficult and unsatisfactory 

that one writer has called it "the one conspicuous failure of 

the United States." ^ 

Remarkable Growth of Cities 

One of the most remarkable facts in our recent history has 
been the growth of our cities. In 1789 there were but six 
cities in America with a population above 8000, and there was 
only one with a population of as much as 33,000. Less than 
four per cent, or one twenty-fifth, of the people lived in cities. 

1 Bryce. These problems and failures have come partly because 
of the rapid growth of our cities, partly because of the character of 
their populations, and partly because of their complex industrial and 
social conditions. 



CITY GOVERNMENT III 

The people lived in the country or in small towns and villages. 
Now, according to the census of 19 lo, there are more than 
five hundred cities each having a population of at least 8000, 
and there are more than fifty with a population of over 
100,000. Nearly half of all the people live in cities; and in 
some States, like Rhode Island and Massachusetts, about 
nine tenths of the people live in cities. New York City has 
a greater population than all the rest of New York State, 
and nearly a million and a half more than all the State of 
Indiana together. Moreover, this growth has been so rapid 
that it has been almost impossible for the cities to adapt 
themselves to it and meet their increasing needs. 

New York City grew from a population of about 50,000 
to over 4,000,000 in a hundred years. In a little more than 
ten years, (igoo to 1910) Detroit received nearly 500,000 of 
new population, owing largely to the automobile industry. 
In the same time Schenectady, New York, more than 
doubled its population. There are many other striking cases 
of rapid increase. Within the memory of men born and still 
living within her limits, Chicago has changed from a little 
prairie village to a teeming center of more than 2,500,000 
people. 

And it must be remembered that from one fourth to one 

1 • 1 r 1 1 • r 1 • • Character of 

third of the people m many of these great cities are people city Population 
of foreign birth, many of them unable to speak the English 
tongue. Large numbers of all races and nationalities are 
segregated in groups and districts; the populations are con- 
stantly shifting and the people in the same block are often 
unknown to one another. The criminal classes have their 
dives in the city; the dependent poor are more numerous; 
there is a wider division between the rich and the poor and 
a sharper conflict between classes, whose methods, conditions, 
and ideals of life are very different. So, altogether, the city 
presents quite a different problem from that of the town or 
country district. 



112 



THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 



There are many reasons why the city has outgrown the 
country in population. The increased immigration has come 
mostly to the cities (see pp. 67-73). Sanitary conditions have 
been improved, so that the death rate has been lowered, and 
the population increases from within as well as from without. 
Labor-saving machinery for the farms has made it possible 
that fewer people are required to stay in the country to 
cultivate the land. Cities are the centers of trade, of 
business opportunities, of shipping and manufacturing. 
Increased transportation facilities, the growth of steam 
and electric railways, the increased use of machinery and the 
rise of great factories and commercial houses, — these in- 
fluences have promoted city growth by leading to an increased 
demand for city workers. 

Within twenty years, while foreign immigration has been 
at high tide, our country has undergone an economic develop- 
ment so wonderful that it is almost impossible for the mind 
to grasp it. In this period our population has increased 
about 50 per cent, but within ten years the output of our 
factories has more than doubled, while within the period of 
twenty years the production of coal (the means and measure 
of this economic activity) has increased three times as fast as 
the population. This means that our increased population 
has been drawn rapidly and constantly to the industrial 
centers where this economic activity has had its life, — in 
the factories, in the stores, in trade, in shipping, and in all 
building occupations. Moreover, young people leave the 
farms and smaller towns on account of the greater oppor- 
tunities and attractions in the cities, — there are better 
schools, larger churches, better theaters, more amusements, 
conveniences, and social pleasures. These are some of the 
influences that have led to city growth. 

The result of all this is that the greatest cities have become 
overcrowded. The people are herded together in compact 
masses; there is hardly breathing room; and while wealth 



CITY GOVERNMENT 1 13 

increases for a few the many suffer poverty. City land 
values are abnormally high and comparatively few people can 
own their homes.^ They have, therefore, less interest in the 
community and are less disposed to promote its order and 
good government. Overworked and underfed toilers live 
in poor tenements and work under hard and unhealthy con- 
ditions. If, as is the case in some of our cities, four or five 
persons have to live in one room and fifteen or twenty in one 
tenement house, and 1000 persons to the acre, and nearly 
300,000 persons to the square mile, — ■ they cannot so live with- 
out danger to their health, comfort, and morals. So, as we 
see, extremes come to meet in our cities. Progress and 
poverty are found together, — ■ high living and a ceaseless 
struggle for a bare existence. On the one hand we find all the 
comforts, conveniences, pleasures, and luxuries of life, while 
near by one finds the most degraded and wretched misery. 
Here we find the millionaires, the helpless tenants, and the 
tramps; the rich capitalists, the Socialists, and the anarchists. 
Witnessing these conditions, many persons have come to look 
upon our cities as dangerous places, like "plague spots" in 
our national life, as the haunts of the dangerous and criminal 
classes, both the criminal rich and the criminal poor. Conse- 
quently, a movement has begun to encourage population to go ^^ ^^ °* 
to the country. Electric lines enable people to live in the Farm" 
country and do business in the city; country life is made 
more attractive; good roads are built; the telephone reaches 
to the farmhouses; rural mail routes are established; social 
centers are formed; good central high schools are provided; 
farming knowledge, facilities, and profits are increased, — 
these and other influences are urged as reasons why people 
should go "back to the farm." 

' By the Census of 1900 more than 64 per cent of the families of the 
United States living on farms owned their own homes, while in New 
York City the proportion was only from 6 to 12 per cent. 



114 



THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 



The increasing 
Business of 
the City 
Government 



Problems or City Government 

In spite of all these influences city populations of all sorts and 
conditions of men continue to increase, and the city finds itself 
forced to attend to a multitude of things. It has to arrest and 
punish crime; assess taxes and regulate city finances; protect 
city property; abate nuisances; prevent the use of firearms 
and fireworks that might be dangerous to persons or property, 
or the storage of inflammable powder or oil, or other com- 
bustible materials; it regulates the erection of high chimneys 
and smokestacks, and requires the inspection of gas pipes, 
drainage, and electric wires. The city government is expected 
to afford police protection; care for the public health and pre- 
vent disease; provide a good water supply; protect the people 
against poor milk and adulterated food; afford fire protection; 
provide for public lighting; attend to culverts and bridges 
and street-paving and improvements, and keep the sidewalks 
in repair; license and regulate all kinds of street traffic; and 
enforce the speed limit on automobiles, so pedestrians may 
cross the street in safety; provide and regulate transportation 
facilities; regulate sewage and the disposal of garbage; and, 
in addition to all these matters of material interest, the city 
undertakes to maintain schools, libraries, hospitals, and 
museums. 

All these things are matters for the government of the 
city to attend to. When we think of so many city ac- 
tivities, we see how complex and miscellaneous is the busi- 
ness of making laws for a city and administering its affairs. 
We are made to realize how, where so many people are living 
together, the interest and freedom of the individual citizen 
must be subordinate to the welfare of the community. It 
will easily be seen that if the city government is bad, neglectful, 
and inefficient, some of the most vital interests of the people 
will suffer. Good government for the city may almost be 
said to be a matter of life and death for its people. 



CITY GOVERNMENT 



115 



Because of their necessities cities are given many powers 
of independent government. Yet the State laws determine 
in the main what the city may do and how it shall be governed, 
what officers the city may have, what their duties are, how 
its taxes are to be raised and its business administered. All 
the laws and privileges controlhng the cities have to be 
obtained from the State legislatures. 

In our State legislatures there are many country members 
who know from experience and observation very little about 
the needs of large cities. The country member can have 
neither the interest nor the knowledge to lead him to be a 
wise law-giver for the city. This practice of letting the State 
legislature govern the city has come down from the time when 
there were no large cities and no special city problems, from 
the days when "uniform laws" for all the communities of the 
State were reasonable enough, because conditions were nearly 
uniform in all parts and all communities of the State. But 
the modern city with its public utiHties, complex activities, 
and numerous functions needs very different laws and regu- 
lations from those of a rural community. The city's interests, 
evils, and problems are now entirely different. PubHc utili- 
ties, special privileges, party machines, the liquor interests, 
and other evil influences that wish to control the cities, are 
willing to keep them in bondage to the legislatures, since 
these influences by their control of the political managers 
can more easily control the people. The consequence 
is that thousands of dollars of the city tax-payers' 
money are wasted and private interests are permitted to 
reap unfair gains. In some of the larger cities the financial 
budgets and expenses of their government are larger than the 
revenues of the State governments under which these cities 
exist. From 1903 to 1913 the moneys raised and expended 
by New York City were over four times as great as those 
of New York State. In 1911 and 191 2, Chicago's govern- 
ment was 84 per cent more costly than the government of 



Home Rule 
for Cities: 
Should the 
State govern 
the City? 



Evils in 

keeping Cities 
in Bondage to 
State 
Legislatives 



Il6 THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 

Illinois. The greater part of the people's taxes come upon 
them for city and local purposes. Does it not appear right 
that cities should be allowed to find their own sources of 
revenue and to determine for themselves their ways and means 
of improvement? 

So it is contended that there should be "home rule" for 
cities, which means that in matters of purely city interests 
the city should be allowed to govern itself; that in its local 
affairs the city should be entirely removed from the legislature 
and its management be put into the hands of its own people, 
the city being allowed to provide its own improvements, to 
raise and expend its own taxes in its own way, and that the 
State should interfere as little as possible in matters of purely 
local concern. Some States have already provided, and all 
States ought to provide, that a city may by a vote of its people 
adopt a home rule charter allowing the city to govern itself in 
this way. This would be a great relief to the legislature and 
to the people of the State at large, because usually at every 
session of the legislature (which is elected to attend to the 
business of the whole State) a large part of the time of that 
body is taken up in considering the internal affairs of certain 
cities about which most of the legislators know little and care 
less. Cities should be given local self-government in harmony 
with long-standing American principles. 
Unity and This right of home rule for cities, or the right of local self- 

Control of the ^ ' • i i 

State in Local government, does not mean, however, that a city should be 
Government jgf ^^ alone to do as it plcascs, or as its people may decide in all 
respects. Its home rule charter and its laws must be in har- 
mony with the laws and constitution of the State. The city 
may have a natural growth and life of its own and its people 
should be allowed to govern themselves, but only in respect 
to those matters in which the whole State is not concerned. 
The same principle holds good in the local self-government 
of cities as in the local self-government of States. As no 
State has a right to govern itself in such a way as to endanger 



CITY GOVERNMENT 117 

the peace and safety or common welfare of the whole nation, 
so no city may disregard the common welfare and laws of the 
State. The city is still an agent of the State for doing certain 
things. The State should see to it that neither city nor county 
should be left alone to permit crime, to neglect the public 
health, or to license practices that promote poverty, im- 
morahty, degradation, and disease. There is much dispute 
as to whether a State legislature should pass laws regulating 
the hours of opening and closing saloons in cities, or whether 
that should be left to the local sentiment of the cities them- 
selves. Within certain limits the State legislature must make 
laws for the control of cities, while the city is entitled to repre- 
sentation in the legislature. The city cannot cut itself off 
entirely from the rest of the State and be independent. 

The State is a poHtical unit and cannot be broken up into 
independent parts. The whole State of New York, or of II- 
hnois, is interested in how New York City or Chicago is gov- 
erned; how the city elections are conducted; whether its votes 
are fairly cast and counted; whether the city harbors criminals 
or fosters vice; whether its representatives in the State leg- 
islature are political grafters and crooks and unscrupulous 
bosses, or are honest men and upright citizens. How the 
cities are governed is of concern to the State. If the cities are 
to help make laws for the State, the State must be consulted 
as to the general laws that are to govern the city. While the 
State should not interfere with the purely local matters of the 
city, yet the State must determine what shall be regarded 
as crimes against society; what institutions affecting the life 
and welfare of the people shall be tolerated; how the elective 
franchise shall be safeguarded; and what shall be done to 
promote the interest of the State as a whole in the conduct 
and government of the city. 



ii8 



THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 



Common Type of City Government 

American cities have generally had their governments 
divided Hke our State and national governments into three 
divisions of government, — legislative, executive, judicial. 
This has been the ordinary type of city government. 

The City Council, or Board of Aldermen, is the legislative 
branch of the city government, and acting with the Mayor, 
it attends to all the business of the city that we have named 
(see p. 114), or appoints Boards or agents to do so. The 
Councilmen are usually elected to represent the different wards 
of the city for terms of from one to four years, though in some 
cities the councilmen, or a part of them, are elected from the 
city at large. The City Council is generally a one-house body, 
though some councils have two houses. 

The Mayor is the chief executive officer of the city. He is 
elected by the people to serve for a term of from one to four 
years and his powers are defined in the city charter. He 
usually has power to veto ordinances passed by the City Coun- 
cil and also the power to appoint the heads of the various 
departments of the city government. Sometimes his appoint- 
ments must be confirmed by the City Council, but in many 
cases this confirmation is not necessary. Many cities give 
the Mayor the absolute power of appointment and removal 
and then hold him responsible for the government of the city. 
This plan may be made to work well; it depends altogether 
on the character of the mayor. 

The work of the city government is usually divided up 
among several different departments. Prominent among 
these are the Police Department, the Fire Department, the 
Department of Public Works, which usually has charge of the 
streets and parks, and the Department of Education. 

The many activities of the city make large amounts of money 
necessary. City taxes are usually high, but most of the tax 
money goes, not to the State or County, but to the city itself. 



CITY GOVERNMENT 



119 



New York City raises more than $150,000,000 a year, and the 
city's expenses are equal to that of any one of several European 
countries, while the city debt of New York is almost as large 
as our national debt be- 
fore we entered the world 
war. To raise and spend 
such large sums of money 
requires an army of 
oflScers, — boards, police- 
men, assessors, collectors, 
treasurers, auditors, etc. 
The city gets its revenue 
partly from a general 
property tax, and partly 
from other forms of 
taxes, like licenses on 
saloons and places of 
amusement. 

Franchises are now be- 




CiTY Expenses and City Debts ^ 



In 191 1, 193 cities with a population of 
over 30,000 each, expended $1,647,700,000. 
The figures in the circle indicate the pro- 
comins" a more lucrative Portions and purposes for which the money 

° was spent, 

source of city revenue. 

A franchise is a freedom, or permission, or privilege, to use 

some public property — like the streets, alleys, or sidewalks, 

or parks, for some gainful or commercial purpose or for a public 

enterprise. Gas companies, street railway companies, lighting 

^ From 1902 to 191 1 city expenditures in this group of cities increased 
from 272 millions to 449 millions. The fact that 454 miUions were used 
for paying off bonds, or debt payment, should not lead us to think 
that cities are paying off their debt. On the contrary the debts of this 
group of cities increased by 148 millions in 1913. New bonds offset the 
old. Much of this indebtedness had come from building water-supply 
systems which wiU be a source of wealth and revenue. Other items caus- 
ing city debts are highways, school buildings and sewers. Most of our 
cities are increasing their permanent property and pubKc improvements 
faster than their debts. But when we consider that the indebtedness of 
the United States is only $10.83 pcr capita (in 1913, before the war), 
while that of 146 of our largest cities is $67.31 per capita, it is time to 
consider municipal economy. 



City 
Franchises 



120 



THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 



City Abuses 



Police Abuses 



Cities and 

Political 

Parties 



companies, telephone companies, etc., obtain franchises to use 
city highways, under certain conditions. These companies 
can afford to pay for or share with the city the revenues 
coming from the conduct of their business, since the use 
of the pubUc streets gives value to their plants. A Chicago 
street railway pays more than half its net receipts to the 
city, and nearly all cities of any considerable size provide 
for such revenues. At times corrupt city councils have 
given away franchises that were very valuable, binding the 
city for forty or fifty years to a contract by which the in- 
terests of the city were betrayed, money lost, and taxes 
increased. Rich corporations have at times bribed city coun- 
cilmen to betray their trust in this way and to sacrifice the 
city for private interests. 

There are other serious abuses that people in the cities suffer 
to exist. The police service is sometimes corrupt, the members 
of the force accepting money from gambling houses, saloons, 
and other places of vice and crime for allowing these places to 
violate the law; that is, the policemen sell to the criminal 
classes the freedom to commit crime. This is always a low 
form of "graft," and in the larger cities it is very difficult to 
prevent. At times there have been regularly organized sys- 
tems among the police for levying and collecting money from 
law violators for allowing them freedom from arrest and 
punishment. The chief of police may be merely the head 
of the corrupt forces receiving money for betraying the law- 
abiding people of the city. The Police Commissioners and 
the Mayor may find it difficult to break up this practice, or 
at times they may "wink at" and permit the abuse and 
share in the illicit gains. Such practices, of course, tend to 
disorder, anarchy, and the undermining of all law. 

Efforts have been made in recent years to separate city 
government from questions of party politics. There is no 
real relation between the matters that cities deal with and the 
issues dividing political parties in State and national affairs. 



CITY GOVERNMENT 121 

Yet the vital problems of the city have not been allowed to be 
considered on their merits, because the national parties have 
organized their city party machines, conducted city primaries 
and conventions, have nominated party candidates for city 
offices, and in city elections have sought to divide the voters 
on party lines. Party managers have sought to lay hold of 
the city patronage, i.e. the offices, and they have used the 
spoils of office as a means of keeping up the party and help- 
ing it to carry the State. These city party machines, acting 
together throughout the State, become a State-wide machine EvUs of 
under the direction of some State boss, and they all work ^^^^ ^^°^^ ^ *" 
together in the State legislature for selfish or party purposes Government 
to prevent their cities from getting better charters and 
nonpartisan and more businesslike government. Sometimes 
partisan legislatures create, or abolish. Police Commissioners, 
or other Boards, and upset an entire city government in certain 
cities of the State in order to strengthen the party or to place 
the city election machinery under party control, thus flagrantly 
sacrificing the interest of the city to the interest of the party. 
This "ripper" legislation is a good illustration of the evils 
arising from permitting the legislature to have full control 
over city affairs. Nor should the local party organization be 
allowed to control city elections or the city business. This is 
now being resisted by the commission form of city government 
(see p. 122) and by local independence among the voters, in order 
that city questions which are non-partisan, may be considered 
on their merits, with only the local and business interests of the 
city in view. To this end, city elections should be held as 
much as possible apart from national and State elections, and 
the party relations of the candidates should be disregarded 
by the voters. The city policies and interests alone should 
govern the voting. There is no Democratic way of removing 
city garbage or getting a good supply of pure water, nor a 
Republican way of safe-guarding the city health. Political 
parties are not divided on such questions as to whether there 



122 



THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 



should be a new high school building or whether the city 
streets should be better paved, or whether the police should 
enforce the law. 



Commission Form of City Government 

There has always been an "orthodox type" of city govern- 
ment in the United States. It has rested on the old idea of 
the "separation of the powers." There must be a City 
Legislature (Council), a City Executive (Mayor), and a 
City Judiciary (Courts, Police Judges, etc.). All these 
ofi&cers and their functions, it has been thought, must be kept 
separate and distinct and the people must elect them all. 
Hardly a city in America departed from this idea until the 
opening of the twentieth century. The commission form of 
City Government disregards this theory. It holds that in 
administering the business of a city the division of powers 
has no place; that the work of the city "is business not govern- 
ment." The commission plan, therefore, abolishes the city 
council as a legislature on the ground that very little legislating 
is to be done by the city and that it is not laws but contracts 
and business arrangements that must be made and carried 
out, and it puts all legislative and administrative authority 
into the hands of the same group of men. 

This plan of city government arose in Galveston, Texas, 
after the great tidal wave had flooded that city in 1901. 
"Prior to 1901 Galveston was one of the worst governed urban 
communities in the whole country. Under the old system 
of jurisdiction by a mayor, various elective officials, and a 
board of aldermen, its municipal history managed to afford 
illustrations of almost every vice in local government. The 
city debt was allowed to mount steadily, and borrowing to pay 
current expenses was not uncommon. City departments were 
managed wastefuUy; spoilsmen were put into places of honor 
and profit in the city's service. The accounts were kept in 
such a way that few could understand what the financial situ,- 



CITY GOVERNMENT 123 

ation was at any time. The tax rate was high, and the citizens 
got poor service in return for generous expenditures. The 
outcome was that a considerable element among the voters 
had become discouraged with the whole situation and had 
ceased to manifest any interest in what went on at the city 
hall"^ Almost the same thing might be truthfully said of 
the corrupt and inefficient conditions and practices in hundreds 
of other American cities. 

Galveston could not obtain financial credit and rebuild its 
waste places under the old corrupt city government. The 
people asked the legislature to overthrow the old form of city 
government and put the powers formerly vested in mayor, 
council, and other officers, into the hands of a commission of 
five business men. The Galveston City charter of 1903 pro- 
vides for the popular election, every two years, of five com- 
missioners, all to be chosen by the city at large. One is called 
the mayor-president, who presides at the meetings of the "^^^ Galveston 
commission, but he has no veto nor special powers. The 
commission by a majority vote enacts all city ordinances and 
passes all appropriations and supervises the enforcement of 
its own orders and regulates the expenditure of its own allow- 
ances. It handles all franchises and awards all contracts on 
public works, and sees to protecting the city against frauds. 
That is, this commission exercises all powers formerly vested 
in the mayor and board of aldermen. Four administrative 
headships or departments of the city are provided: i. Fi- 
nance and revenue; 2. Water and sewerage; 3. Police and 
fire protection; 4. Streets and public property.- 

The mayor-president is not made the head of a department, 
but exercises a general supervision over all, and each of the 
four other commissioners is made directly responsible, as 
head manager, for one of these important branches of the 

1 Munro's "The Government of American Cities," p. 295. 
^ The city schools are, as formerly, placed under the control of a 
separate school board. 



124 THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 

city's business. Important appointments in each department 
are made by the whole commission, while the minor appoint- 
ments are made by the commissioner in whose department the 
work lies. 

This is the Galveston plan. It explains the commission 
form of city government. It was devised to meet an emer- 
gency, but when its working benefits were seen by experience 
it was retained as a permanent form of city government. 
Other cities of Texas, noticing the improved conditions in 
Galveston, obtained similar charters. The plan spread to other 
States, Des Moines, in Iowa, being the next to adopt it and 
adding some new features. In Des Moines five city depart- 
ments are created, the Mayor being made the head of the 
Department of public affairs, and some of the newer democratic 
agencies of government are added, the initiative, referendum, 
protest and recall, and nominations by a nonpartisan Primary. 
The Protest affords a means by petition of delaying an ordi- 
nance of the city council or commission, until the people may 
have an opportunity to express themselves on it, by a vote 
for or against it. No public utility franchise is to be valid 
till confirmed by the voters. 

As many as two hundred cities in twenty different States 
now use the Galveston Commission plan of city government 
or some modification of it. They are generally cities of less 
than 100,000 population. 

Only seven cities with as much, each, as 100,000 population 
and only one with 200,000 had by 1913 adopted the commission 
plan. In almost all cases where the people have had a chance 
to vote on the plan they have adopted it, and no city has gone 
back to the old plan after trying the new. ^ 

The terms of the commissioners vary from one to six years, 

the salaries from a few hundred to several thousand dollars. 

In some cities the distribution of the administrative work is 

made by the commission after it is elected; in others, each 

1 See Munro's "Government of American Cities," p. 302. 



CITY GOVERNMENT 



125 



commissioner is elected for a particular department. The 
commission is not expected to be a body of experts, but it is 
expected to be able and willing to select experts to attend to 
the city business, surveying, engineering, road and bridge 
building, bookkeeping, assessing, the care of public health, etc. 

"Under no plan of local government ought a second-rate 
engineer to be preferred to a first-rate lawyer or physician or 
banker or mechanic as supervisor of streets; yet he undoubt- 
edly would have some advantage over the latter in any electoral 
contest where special qualifications happen to be thrust into 
the foreground. To look for specialized skill in the individual 
commissioners is to impair one of the strong features of the 
whole commission plan, which is the combination of strictly 
amateur with strictly expert administration, each operating 
in its proper sphere." ^ 

Certain advantages are claimed for this system: 

1. It concentrates responsibility. No system can avoid all 
faults and errors, but when these occur the blame cannot be 
any longer bandied back and forth between mayor and council. 
It will be definitely known upon whose shoulders to lay the 
blame. It will be the fault of the commission and, too, of 
a particular member of the commission and the remedy or 
punishment can be applied. 

2. It makes business methods possible. Construction Work, 
fire protection, auditing, piping water to a town, making and 
enforcing good contracts, all these are not matters of leg- 
islation but of business. They should be attended to in a 
sensible way by a competent board of business directors (com- 
missioners) for the stockholders, who are the people and the 
tax payers of the city. The commission may simplify adminis- 
trative machinery and promote efficiency, though, of course, 
the city is more than a mere corporation for commercial 
profits and must be governed with a view to public opinion. 



Advantages of 
the 

Commission 
Form 



^ See Munro, " Government of American Cities," pp. 303-304. 



126 



THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 



Objections to 
the 

Commission 
Plan 



A good honest business administration helps to educate public 
opinion. 

3 . It reduces administrative friction and delay. City councils 
are sometimes unwieldy. A small body that can act quickly, 
elected by the whole city, may be as truly representative as a 
large body elected by all parts of the town.^ 

4. // improves the quality of city officers. With business 
methods possible and responsibility and power concentrated, 
better men are induced to take charge of the city's affairs. 
City government, like all government, depends on the men 
chosen to administer it. Good men may do well under a bad 
system, but bad men will not do well under any system. A 
good system may help good men to overcome the bad. 

Objections have been raised to the new plan of city govern- 
ment. It has been denounced as undemocratic, un-American 
and oligarchic, as putting power into the hands of too few men. 
It is charged that it does not allow a representative city govern- 
ment; that it may promote rather than prevent corrupt con- 
trol, since "the smaller the body the easier it can be reached 
and influenced." The liquor interests, or a large public 
service corporation, or the spoilsmen who are out for the 
"loaves and fishes," may, it is asserted, more easily buy or 
coerce five commissioners than fifty councilmen; hence there 
is safety in numbers.- 

It may be that the commission plan will not achieve all 
that has been promised for it. It is still new, and it must 
always be remembered that no plan is self-executing or can 

^ Prior to 1909 Boston had 75 aldermen, three from each of twenty- 
five wards. Such a council will not be likely to show much "collective 
wisdom" but is likely to be dominated by party spoilsmen and to 
divide itself into a lot of standing committees with divided responsi- 
bility. 

2 In Munro's The Government of American Cities, p. 313, this objec- 
tion is well refuted. Under the old system the corruptionist does not 
deal with the aldermen one by one, but with the five or six political 
bosses in the various wards, or perhaps with only one central boss who 
acts as the go-between in controlling the council. 



CITY GOVERNMENT 



127 



SPOKAM^^^HIEWS 




^PPJcTlN-lf^MflNt^^- 




INWARD 2= WARD 

5P0KAN 



359WARD|4' 

e: 



CITIZ 



WARD SEWARD 

ENS 



Illustrating the Simplicity of the Present Charter as Com- 
pared w^TH THE Complexity and Confusion of the Old Way 
IN Spokane, Washington 



128 THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 

dispense with civic righteousness and pubHc spirit among the 
people. The commission plan should be connected with other 
reforms and features in city government, — - nonpartisan 
nominations, the short ballot, preferential voting, the merit 
system, abolition of ward representation, publicity in official 
business, and the strict enforcement of good election laws. 
Eternal vigilance is the price of good government. Candi- 
dates backed by money and organization will always have a 
better chance than those that are not. But the people who are 
disinterested and not self-seekers should always be ready to 
avail themselves of every reform and device that will give them 
a better fighting chance against the forces of evil and cor- 
ruption. As such, the commission form of city government 
deserves trial and attention. 

The City Manager Plan 

The "city manager plan," which is sometimes called the 
"commission manager plan," involves the choice by the 
commission or council of a single man to manage the business 
of the city. It is an evolution, or an advance, from the 
commission plan, and it is based upon the idea that city 
administration has become a business or a profession, and must 
be managed by men experienced in city affairs. It recognizes 
the city's need of the expert for special city problems. It 
retains the essential reforms of the commission plan by which 
a small elective body is chosen by a nonpartisan election on 
a short ballot. The members of the commission may be 
chosen by wards, but it is considered better to have them chosen 
by the voters of the city at large. This commission chooses 
a business manager who becomes solely responsible for the 
honest and efficient conduct of the city's various departments 
of government. Under the usual commission plan each 
of the five commissioners takes charge of a department of the 
city's work, devoting his whole time on a substantial salary 
to directing his department. This gives a five-headed aspect 



CITY GOVERNMENT 



129 



to the city's government. The city manager plan substitutes 
a single head who has control of the important appointments 
and removals, and who is responsible to the commission for 
results. 

The "city manager" is not elected by the people but is 
appointed by the commission or council. He need not be 
a resident of the city at the time of his appointment, but may 
be selected from anywhere in the country, on account of his 
business and administrative capacity, and being responsible 
to the council he holds his office not for any specified term but 
only so long as he gives satisfaction. 

The little city of Sumter, South Carolina, with a population 
of a little over 8000, was the first city in the United States to 
use the city manager. In 191 2 that city advertised through- 
out the United States for a city manager. The advertisement 
said: 

"An engineer of standing and ability will be preferred. 

"The city manager will hold office as long as he gives 
satisfaction to the commission. He will have complete 
administrative control of the city, subject to the approval 
of the board of three elected commissioners. 

"There will be no politics in the job; the work will be purely 
that of an expert. 

"A splendid opportunity for the right man to make a record 
in a new and coming profession." 

There were 150 applicants for this city job in Sumter. 
A civil engineer from Virginia who had been in the employ 
of the Southern Railway Company was selected. In one year 
the manager had saved the city more than half his salary 
on one or two items of expenditure and by the cart service 
in the Department of Public Works he saved the city nearly 
$5000 a year. 

After the flood in the Miami Valley in 1913, Dayton, Ohio, 
which had suffered severely from that overflow, adopted for 
itself an advanced city charter providing for a city manager. 



How the City 
Manager is 
Chosen 



Origin and 
Growth of the 
City Manager 
Plan, 
Sumter, S. C. 



130 THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 

Under the new constitution of Ohio, a city in that State was 
no longer required to go to the State legislature whenever it 
wished to make some change or improvement in its local 
affairs. So Dayton adopted a new charter for itself under 
which it might try out the manager plan. Dayton offered 
its managership with a l:Lrge salary to Colonel Goethals, the 
builder of Panama. Colonel Goethals declined and the place 
was offered to Henry M. Waite, who was at the time city 
engineer in Cincinnati. Waite was a civil engineer, a graduate 
from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and he had 
been Division Superintendent on some of the large railways 
of the country. He had acquired a large knowledge of civic 
affairs, had become efficient in city administration, and was 
devoted to the idea of efficiency in public office. His platform 
was to employ men for their eJSiciency and not because of any 
political affiliation or in payment of any political debts. 

Dayton is the largest city in the country to try the com- 
mission-manager plan (pop., 116,000).^ It pays its manager 
a salary of $12,500. Staunton, Virginia, pays her manager 
$2500, Sumter, S. C, $3300, Springfield, Ohio, $6000. The 
larger salaries may endanger the plan. They are to be 
justified only on the ground that the manager by his econo- 
mies can save the city much more than his salary without 
impairing the public service. In Manistee, Michigan, the 
city budget in 1913 was $104,000. The manager saved 
$20,000 of this and at the same time greatly increased the 
city's service, restoring ten miles of paved streets. The old 
government had authorized $80,000 on a new sewer. The 
new city manager spent $1200 to clean out the old one, 
removing tons of sand and refuse, and the sewer was found 
to be in perfect condition. The new sewer was not built. 
Such items of saving will justify a good salary to the right 
man. 

^ See Waite's "The Commission Manager Plan," in the National 
Municipal Review, Vol. IV, p. 40. 



CITY GOVERNMENT ■ 131 

The powers of the city manager as seen from several charters 
of cities operating under the plan are as follows: 

(a) He is charged with the enforcement of the laws and ordi- 
nances. To this end, he must control the Police Department. 

(b) He administers the various city departments and is 
responsible for the results. 

(c) He appoints and dismisses the employes whose work is 
essential to these results. 

{d) He advises the council or commission, making written 
reports at the meetings, but has no vote. 

(e) He estimates the financial needs of the city, and is the 
expert budget-maker and financial adviser of the commission. 

(/) He has general powers of investigation and is the general 
agent of the commission.^ 

Managers are now being transferred from city to city, like 
city school superintendents. Jackson, Michigan, drew the 
successful manager of Big Rapids by an advance in salary, 
and Sherman, Texas, hired one from River Forest, Illinois. 
So the profession of city manager is becoming established. 

The Model Charter of the National Municipal League 
arranges to have the commission appoint the City Civil 
Service Commission and the city auditor in addition to the 
manager, who is to make all other appointments. The Dayton 
charter adds the city clerk to the commission's appointments. 
In other cities, the assessors, municipal judges, and boards 
of education are appointed by the commission instead of by 
the manager. Some cities have put the police department 
beyond the manager's authority, also the city solicitor (at- 
torney), city treasurer, purchasing agent, and sinking fund 
commissioners. This goes so far as to reduce the "manager" 
merely to a city engineer or superintendent of public works, 
and such cities should be excluded from those said to be trying 
the plan, since in them the city manager does not really manage. 

^ Toulmin's The City Manager, p. 90. See also " City Manager Prog- 
ress during 1916 " in the ]S[atlonal Municipal Review for March, 1917, 



132 



THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 



City Control of 

Public 

UtUities 



Is City 

Ownership of 
Public 
UtUities 
Desirable? 



Municipal Public Utilities 

A public utility is an agency for supplying some public need 
or for giving some useful service to the community. Water 
works, gas plants, transportation facilities, telephone con- 
veniences, are public utilities. If these are supplied by private 
corporations, the private companies are called "public service 
corporations" (see p. 88). They are private companies 
using private capital under private control, but it is recognized 
that they are to render a public service, and the public have 
more or less interest in and should have some voice in their 
management. The franchises under which private companies 
operate — that is, the grant by which they are allowed to 
use the streets — require certain services and returns. Abu-ses 
have arisen at times by these companies seeking to control 
the city council so as to obtain liberal, or loose franchises 
that are unfair to the people of the city and under which the 
companies may make undue profits. 

These abuses have led to a demand that cities should own 
or fully control their own public utilities, and take over the gas 
plants, water works, etc., and operate them as they do the 
police, fire, and school departments of the city. Of course this 
municipal ownership, or control, is to be brought about only 
after making fair compensation to the owners of the properties 
for money invested. It is claimed that under city ownership 
better and cheaper service would be furnished, as the public 
utilities, which are natural monopolies in which competition 
is not desirable or possible, would then be operated solely in 
the interest of the public and without the necessity of declar- 
ing large dividends to private owners. Some cities have had 
successful experience in city ownership, and some have been 
unsuccessful. Whether the public would be better served 
under municipal ownership depends altogether upon how the 
city is governed. If "spoils politics" and selfish interests 
prevail in the city council, or governing boards, and incom- 




City Hall, Oakland, Califorkla 







44 !i 



„^. 




' „-i 




T-,,H 



yp' ^ I Mill I ijj. 



[[[fMltM 



Sewabd Park Playground, New York City 




Lincoln Park, Chicago 



CITY GOVERNMENT 133 

petent and corrupt politicians are elected to office, the public 
service will be neglected. But if the people are vigilant and 
intelligent and elect competent, public-spirited men to control 
the business of the city, then these public utihties, which should 
always be managed for the city, may be efficiently and satis- 
factorily managed by the people. It all goes back to the 
question whether the people will govern themselves well, or 
allow themselves to be misgoverned and mistreated. 

Municipal Activities 

It is the duty of the city police to enforce the laws, to Police 
preserve the pubHc peace, suppress riots, to patrol the streets. Administration 
to regulate street traffic, to compel the liquor shops to obey 
the law, to inspect places of public amusement, to direct and 
advise strangers in the city, and to do whatever else may 
tend to promote the good order of the city. The good poHce- 
man is always a friend to the law-abiding citizen and a foe 
to evil-doers. The police are controlled either by a Police 
Commissioner or a Police Board, appointed (usually) by the 
Mayor. Since the policemen are charged with enforcing 
State laws, some State supervision is usually exercised in 
their appointment and removal. 

The city has charge of many public activities. There is Public 
a City Board of Health, with a physician as director or secre- Health 
tary. It is the duty of the Health Department to make 
sanitary inspection of schoolhouses, factories, and public 
buildings; to control public ventilation, smoke consumption, 
drainage, sewage, and care of garbage; to control cases of 
infectious disease and to provide for isolation and careful 
disinfection; to regulate the sale of food products; to prevent 
the growth of rank vegetation, to promote city cleanliness, 
to inspect the health of school children, and to advise the 
people as to the best way to promote public health. 

In recent years most of the larger cities, and many smaller PubUc 
ones, have come to realize the importance of providing recrea- Recreation 



134 



THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 



Charities and 
Poor Relief 



Poverty and 
Crime 



tion rooms, playgrounds, and public parks ("breathing 
places") for their crowded populations. Tracts of land are 
set aside for public games and recreation; outdoor sports, 
municipal playgrounds, and park gymnasiums are provided. 
It is beheved that such opportunities will promote the physical 
and moral welfare of the children and help to re-create the 
strength and energy of all working classes. 

In some places the relief of the poor is attended to entirely 
by private enterprise and organization, or by churches and 
religious societies; in some places, as in New England, it is 
always a municipal fujiction; in some places it is a county 
function, while in some places the duty is attended to by the 
Township through the Township Trustee. In most cities 
there are Organized Charities; that is, societies which are 
organized and promoted by private benevolence and enter- 
prise, though they are sometimes assisted by city authorities 
and city funds. The societies for Organized Charities seek to 
prevent duplication, waste, and imposition; to obtain ad- 
mission of suitable persons to public almshouses and hospitals; 
to obtain medical assistance for the sick and outdoor relief 
for those who may be best helped in that way; ^ to maintain 
public employment bureaus by which the able-bodied poor 
may obtain employment and become self-supporting; and 
to assist the poor in their tenements toward better conditions 
and methods of living. 

Poverty, disease, and crime, because of the growth of great 
cities and their congested populations, present greater prob- 
lems than private benevolence can care for. These problems 
are of public concern. Cities and States are now giving 
attention to them. There are State Boards of Charities as 
weU as City Boards. These give attention to the pressing 



1 "Outdoor relief" is help given to persons in their homes as dis- 
tinguished from "indoor relief," by providing for them in public insti- 
tutions. Outdoor relief has been subject to much abuse and has in 
many cases tended to encourage pauperism. 



CITY GOVERNMENT 135 

problems of charities and correction; of crime and its punish- 
ment (criminology, penology); of prison reform; of providing 
for orphaned, destitute, or wayward children; and the study 
of the causes of poverty and its prevention. Students of 
these social problems and social workers, men and women 
who give their lives to the problems of charity, hold national 
conferences every year, and a valuable literature has arisen 
from their addresses and proceedings.^ 

The whole problem of public education is under the control PubUc 
of the city, subject to the laws of the State. The schools of a Education 
city are its most important enterprise. On these are ex- 
pended a very large proportion of its revenues, and in the 
welfare and efficiency of these schools the people of the city 
are most vitally interested. A Board of Education, or School 
Board, is elected either by popular vote or by the City Council. 
In some States this body is a separate corporation, or "school 
city" with a power to levy taxes, within a maximum limit, to 
supply the city's educational needs. In other places the 
School Board makes up a budget showing the educational 
needs and this may be allowed or modified by the City Coun- 
cil. The School Board attends to the business of choosing and 
buying sites for school buildings, of erecting and maintaining 
the buildings, choosing a Superintendent of Schools, and, 
under the Superintendent's advice, of appointing teachers 
and adopting courses of study .^ 

Welfare Problems 

One important problem before the great city is to abolish The City slums 

the "slums" and to improve the homes and the housing Tenement 

conditions of the working classes. The low, dirty back Problem 

^ See Proceedings of National Conference of Charities and Correc- 
tions. Also Edward T. Devine's The Practice of Charity,^' and Charles 
R. Henderson's Modern Methods of Charity. 

2 See p. 114 for other activities and functions attended to by the 
city. 



136 THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 

streets and lanes of the city, the mean hovels and crowded 
tenement houses, have not afforded decent places in which to 
live. Vice, crime, and drunkenness abound; epidemics of 
sickness occur; there is no home life, no privacy; and, there- 
fore, decency and sanitary conditions are almost impossible. 
Fresh air, sunlight, and pure water are denied. The result 
of these "slum" conditions is that the death rate is high, 
especially among children, and the slum dwellers in their 
squalor and misery care nothing for the order and good 
government of the city. They are at once the victims of 
bad economic conditions and the instruments of bad city 
government. The "slums" present the economic problem 
of city regeneration which social workers and settlement 
workers and intelligent benevolence are trying to solve. 
Students of city government and social problems are learning 
from the conditions abroad and the better government of 
foreign cities. Glasgow, in Scotland, attacked the slum 
problem some years ago. It razed its slum shacks and erected 
new houses in the old slum area. The death rate, which 
had been 53 in 1000 every year, fell to 15 per thousand. In 
adjoining slums the rate remained at 53 per thousand. 

Nothing can be more important for a city than the condi- 
tions in which its people live, and it is this problem that now 
confronts the people of the city, not among the poor only, 
but chiefly among the rich and the well-to-do.^ The whole 

^ The advanced student is invited to consider the economic causes 
and results of poverty. Bad economic conditions, poor homes, poor 
food, or not enough food, produce stunted, undergrown, ill-formed, and 
unhealthy people. 

During the British Boer War in South Africa "about one half of the 
army candidates from London were rejected as below the military 
standard. In the enlistment stations in York, Shefheld, and Leeds, 
over 47 per cent were found to be physically unfit for service, while 
in Manchester, out of 11,000 men offering themselves for service in 
1889, 8000 were reported to be so deficient in stamina and physical 
strength as to be defective." Frederick Harrison, in speaking of the 
sad housing and social condition of British workingmen says: "To 




At the Milk Station, Mt. Morris Park, New York City 




A City Dispensary 




SoLDAN High School, St. Louis, Missouri 




New Central Library Building, Indlanapolis Public Library 



CITY GOVERNMENT 137 

city, the rich and powerful included, must be induced or com- 
pelled to provide city conditions suitable for the living of all 
the people. 

Will the city be able to raze the slums and create the "City "^^^ "^^^ 

Beautiful " 

Beautiful"? The city has been looked upon as the failure and 
the fear of democracy. It has also been called the "hope 
of democracy." Hope will overcome fear, and our cities are 
destined to become monuments of American genius and 
invention and of the ability of the people to govern themselves. 
Active civic movements have not only to secure better govern- 
ment for our cities, but better economic conditions must be 
made to obtain a fairer distribution of wealth and better homes 
for the working classes. The cities will then be beautified and 
made fit places not only in which to trade and make money 
but for wholesome living and the enjoyment of life. More 
beautiful parks will be laid out, ample playgrounds provided, 
cleaner streets obtained, and finer boulevards and drives will 
be made. Safer factories will exist, better schools will be 
developed, central and branch libraries and museums will 
be provided, and vocational training will afford the people 
opportunity for culture and the children a better preparation 

me it would be enough to condemn modern society as hardly an advance 
on slavery or serfdom, if the permanent condition of industry were to 
be that which we behold. Ninety per cent of the actual producers of 
wealth have no homes that they can call their own beyond the end of 
the week; have no bit of soil, or so much as a room that belongs to 
them; have nothing of value of any kind except as much furniture as 
will go in a cart; have the precarious chance of weekly wages which 
barely suffice to keep them in health, are housed for the most part 
in places that no man thinks fit for his horse; are separated by so narrow 
a margin from destitution that a month of bad trade, sickness or un- 
expected loss brings them face to face with hunger and pauperism ... 
This is the normal state of the average workman in town or country." 
Are the conditions much better in many American cities? If America 
is to be saved from such conditions, how is it to be done? See Howe's 
The City, The Hope of Democracy; Haw's Britain's Homes, and The 
Day's Work; Jack London's The People of the Abyss; Robert Hunter's 
Poverty; Jacob Riis's The Battle of the Slums, and the publications of 
the National Municipal League. 



138 THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 

for life. Cathedrals, art galleries, and fine monuments will 
adorn the city. City planning will be intelligent, the artistic 
side of the city will be cultivated, and extensions will be laid 
out with designs for architectural beauty. Great architects 
will be employed for city building and city improvement, 
and given freedom to work out plans to improve public 
squares and buildings or water fronts, and thus a city may be 
designed and remade into a vision of beauty and a joy to its 
people. 

The planting, care, and preservation of trees; school archi- 
tecture and interior decorations; home lawns and extensions; 
the safety of grade crossings; the abatement of smoke nui- 
sances; the prevention of screeching whistles and unnecessary 
noises, — all these possibilities the "City Beautiful" will 
seek to attain. To this end there must be developed a city 
sense and a city spirit, a love and affection for the city, 
a devotion to its interests and a constant thought and effort 
to promote its welfare, a willingness to sacrifice one's self for 
its life and its betterment. It is in such lives of public devotion 
that we find good citizenship, and in such citizens we find the 
truest patriotism and love of country. 

The constant need of the city is noble, unselfish, patriotic 
men and women. With these devoted to its service it will be 
efficient and beautiful; without them it will decay. "There 
is not a city government in America on whatever pattern 
organized which will not work well when administered by 
honest, public-spirited, capable, and well- trained men." ^ 
There is not one that will work well if bad and incompetent 
men are in charge. It should be the hope and desire of the 
children of our schools to bring devoted and efficient service 
to the cities and towns in which they live. 

1 Carl Schurz in the Proceedings of the National Municipal League, 
1894, p. 123. 



CITY GOVERNMENT 139 

CIVIC CLUBS 

"North Yakima, Washington, claims to be the cleanest city in the 
United States. Also it is one of the most progressive. For these 
distinctions it is largely indebted to its Women's Clubs. Although a 
small city it has such a club for nearly every department of civic uplift 
and a federated club with committees devoted to public health and 
happiness. These committees establish public parks and playgrounds, 
attend to the sanitary condition of schools and other public institutions, 
cooperate with the city health authorities for pure food and market 
cleanliness, light flies, bring art collections to the city for study, and 
generally beautify public and private grounds. For example, one 
of these committees recently bought and planted several thousand 
rose trees throughout the city." {Independent, August 23, 1915, p. 257.) 

This illustrates how voluntary agencies and efforts may cultivate 
better city conditions and promote better city government. The 
officers in a city will not do any better than public opinion demands, 
and public opinion will depend upon the activity and public spirit 
of private citizens. Civic clubs, women's clubs, commercial clubs, 
churches, school officers, health oificers, — all should cooperate to keep 
the city and its politics clean and its government honest and enter- 
prising. 

TOPICS AND QUERIES 

1. Debate: "Resolved that the evils under home rule for cities would 

be greater than under State control." 

2. Debate: "Resolved, that nominations to city offices should be by 

petition and that no party ballot should appear in the election." 

3. Debate: "Resolved that the city manager plan is better than the 

orthodox type of city government." 

4. Why has the American democracy failed more in city government 

than elsewhere? 

5. Why are city "slums" dangerous? How can they be abolished? 

6. What are the police abuses in your city? How do saloons and 

criminal places influence the police? How is the police court 
conducted? 

7. How are the taxes of your city raised and disbursed? 

8. How may school children cooperate with the authorities in making 

the city beautiful? 

SELECT REFERENCES ON CITY GOVERNMENT 

Beard, Charles A. American City Government, A Survey of Newer 

Tendencies (191 2). 
Beard, Mary Ritter. Woman's Work in Municipalities (1915). 
Deming, H. E. The Government of American Cities (1909). Lays 

special emphasis on the relation of the city to the State. 



140 THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 

Goodnow, F. J. Municipal Home Rule (1903). 

Goodnow, F. J. Municipal Government (1909). 

Hamilton, John Judson. Dethronement of the City Boss, or City Govern- 
ment by Commission. 

Howe, Frederic C. The City, the Hope of Democracy. See Chapter 
XVI, "The City Beautiful." 

Munro, W. B. The Government of American Cities (1913). See chapter 
on "Municipal Reform and Reformers," in which is described the 
work of the Municipal Voters' League of Chicago, various city 
clubs and civic organizations, the Bureau of Municipal Research, 
and other agencies for the promotion of better government. 

Nolen, John. City Planning (1915). 

Rowe, L. S. Problems of City Government. 

Steffens, J. Lincoln. The Shame of the Cities, describing the abuses 
and misgovernment of American cities a decade ago or more. 

Toulmin, H. A., Jr. The City Manager, a New Profession (1915). 

Wilcox, Delos F. The American City: A Problem in Democracy. 

Woodruff, Clinton R. City Government by Commission. 

Zeublin, Chas. A Decade of Civic Development; American Municipal 
Progress (19 16). 



PERIODICAL LITERATURE 

In the National Municipal Review, see " City Planning the Past Year," 
by Geo. B. Ford, May, 1917; "Planning the Modern City," Vol. VI, 
(1917); "Results of Civic and Social Surveys" by Murray Gross, 
January, 1918, and " Cities in War Times" in the same issue. 

"How Our Big Cities Do Things" is explained in Equity for January, 
1918 and October, 191 7, in detailed studies of the charters, organiza- 
tion, and processes of city government in New York, Philadelphia, 
Chicago, Detroit, Boston, St. Louis, and Cleveland. Equity is a 
Quarterly (Philadelphia, 50 cents a year) "devoted to improved proc- 
esses of self-government." 

"How the Commission-manager Plan is Getting Along," article by 
Richard S. Childs in the National Municipal Review, July, 1915. 

"The Commission-Manager Plan," article by Henry M. Waite, in the 
National Municipal Review, Vol. IV, p. 40. Municipal Charters 
with Models, Political Science Quarterly, March, 1915. 

The Survey; December 19, 1914. 

The American City, a monthly publication dealing with the problems 
of city government. 

Metropolitan Free Cities: A Thorough Municipal Home Rule Policy, 
by Robert C. Brooks, in the Political Science Quarterly, June, 1915. 

The Annual Proceedings of the National Municipal League, also The 
National Municipal Review, the quarterly organ of this League. 
These give the latest discussions of current problems in city govern- 



CITY GOVERNMENT 141 

ment. The League also publishes a series of volumes on city 
government. 

The Bureau of Municipal Research, New York City. Issues monthly 
bulletins. 

Voters^ Leagues and their Critical Work, by D. R. Fox, in the National 
Municipal Review, Vol. II. 

The Evil Influence of National Parties in Municipal Elections, by 
Brand Whitlock, in the Proceedings of the National Municipal 
League for 1907. 

The American Year Book contains material on many branches of city 
government. 

League of American Municipalities, 4 vols., 1906-1910. Statistical 
tables and summaries of civic progress. 

McLaughlin, A. C. and Hart, A. B. Cyclopedia of American Govern- 
ment. 3 vols., 1914. Brief articles on many topics touching city 
government. 

Professor William B. Munro, of Harvard University, has published a 
comprehensive Bibliography of Municipal Government in the United 
States. (Harvard University Press, 1915.) From this innumer- 
able references to books and periodical literature may be found. 



CHAPTER VI 
THE STATES AND THEIR GOVERNMENT 

The American citizen is interested in his Nation. The 
Nation seems large to him. Its poUtics and elections, its public 
men and public questions, excite his attention, and he is fami- 
liar with his Nation's history and its great men. In what- 
The gyg]- State or section he may be, he thinks of the United 

the state in the States as Ms native or adopted land and is proud to greet 
Government of " Qld Glory" as the flag and symbol of his beloved country. 
This is right. But when it comes to the laws and officers and 
methods by which he is governed the State is more important 
to the citizen than is the Nation. In all his affairs in which 
civil and criminal laws are concerned the State touches the 
citizen a hundred times where the Nation touches him once. 
All our ordinary civil obligations and the relations of citizens 
to one another are dealt with by the State. 

" An American may, through a long life, never be reminded of 
the Federal Government except when he votes at presidential 
and congressional elections, buys a package of tobacco bearing 
the government stamp, lodges a complaint against the post- 
office, or opens his trunk for a custom house officer on a pier 
at New York when he returns from a tour in Europe." ^ 

It is the State that really governs the citizen. Nearly all 
the citizen's taxes are paid to State or local officials acting 
under State laws. The citizen finds that it is the State which 
registers the births of his children, provides for their education 
and their inheritance of his property, makes laws and regula- 
tions for safeguarding their health or for licensing them 

^ Bryce, American Commonwealth, Vol. I, p. 425. 
142 



THE STATES AND THEIR GOVERNMENT 



143 



when they wish to enter a trade or get married. The court 
and poHce ofhcers that look after the peace and order of 
the community, the trustees or local boards "that look after 
the poor, control highways, impose water rates, manage 
schools, — all these derive their legal powers from the State 
alone. In comparison with such a number of functions the 
Federal Government is but a department for foreign affairs."^ 
It will be seen that the possible offenses against national law 
are very few, against State law much more numerous. If 
a man becomes a traitor, or a pirate, or a counterfeiter, or a 
"moonshiner," or robs a post-office, or interferes with inter- 
state commerce, or commits assault or murder on an American 
vessel at sea, he may be arrested and tried by Federal authority. 
Offenses against the national law may almost be counted on 
the fingers of one's hand. But the State law deals with the 
ordinary and more common violations of law, — murder, 
robbery, theft, burglary, bribery, bigamy, and divorce, 
offenses against the ballot, nuisances, malfeasance in ofiice, 
violation of contract or any wrong or injury to person or 
property. Almost the whole civil life of the citizen is regu- 
lated by the State, or by municipal and local governments 
controlled by the State. Thus it behooves the citizen to 
understand his State government, to watch it constantly, and 
to do all that he can to see to it that the State does what it was 
created to do, — i.e. to safeguard the citizen's most precious 
rights and promote the public's highest interest. 



Offenses 
against 
National Law 
compared with 
those against 
State Laws 



State Constitution 

Each State has a constitution of its own which is the funda- 
mental law for the government and protection of the State. 
The original thirteen States while they were yet colonies had 
constitutions in the form of charters. These charters were 
granted to them by the King or by Parliament and they served 
as instruments of government, limiting the powers of their 
1 Bryce, I, 426. 



144 



THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 



General 
Provisions 
of a State 
Constitution 



How a State 
Constitution 
is made 



Power of 
Congress over 
a State 
Constitution 



officers and guaranteeing certain rights to their citizens. 
During the Revolution, from 1776 to 1780, all the States 
except two adopted new constitutions to take the place of 
their charters.^ This was done by the independent action 
of their people, usually under the guidance of the Colonial 
Assembly. Thus the supreme power competent to create a 
constitution, which had abided in King and ParUament, now 
passed to the people of the several independent States. 

The State Constitution in every case at present provides 
for an Executive, or Governor, a Legislature of two Houses, 
and a Judiciary with a system of civil and criminal procedure. 
Each provides a system of local self-government in counties, 
cities, townships, and school districts, with a system of State 
and local taxation. 

A State constitution is usually made by a State convention. 
The delegates to this convention are elected by the people 
(or by those authorized to vote under the existing consti- 
tution), and after the convention has drawn up and agreed 
to the constitution, it is submitted to a vote of the people for 
acceptance or rejection. If it is approved by the popular 
vote it will be declared in force and be put into operation 
by the proclamation of the Governor or by such means and 
forms as the new constitution will provide. 

It should be understood that a State constitution is not 
granted by Congress nor does a State government derive its 
authority from that body but rather from the people of the 
State. Congress has influenced the character of a State 
constitution by imposing such conditions on the admission 
of a State as will lead it to conform its constitution to certain 
requirements, as was proposed in the case of Missouri when 
the House wished to require that State before its admission 
to provide in its constitution for the abolition of slavery, or 
as was done in the case of Utah when Congress required that 

1 Connecticut retained her colonial charter until 1818 and Rhode Island 
hers until 1842, 



THE STATES AND THEIR GOVERNMENT 1 45 

State to pledge itself to the prevention of polygamy. President 
Taft vetoed the admission of Arizona, requiring the people 
of that Territory to take out of their new constitution a pro- 
vision for the recall of judges. After Arizona's constitution 
had been changed to meet this requirement the State was 
admitted. Soon afterwards the people of Arizona reinserted 
in their constitution the provision for the judicial recall, and 
there was no way to prevent it by any national authority. 
If Congress wished to punish a State for violating its pledges, 
it might deny to the State all representation in Congress, 
but that has never been done and is not likely to be. The 
people of a State may amend their State Constitution or 
adopt a new one at any time it may suit them to do so. 

Every State constitution provides the method for its own 
amendment. Usually amendments originate in the legislature, 
though in some States they may be proposed under the initia- ^^^nding 
tive and referendum (see p. 36). The amendment, as a constitutions 
rule, has to pass both houses, perhaps by a two thirds majority, 
and then be submitted to the people for approval. The legis- 
lature may call a convention or ask the people to vote on 
the question whether or not they wish a convention, for the 
purpose of revising the constitution or making a new one. 

There is no limit on the power of a State, and no national 
authority can interfere in its management, except that its 
Constitution and laws must be in harmony with the Con- 
stitution and laws of the United States. A Supreme Court 
decision may set aside a State law or even a part of a State's 
constitution, if either should be found to violate the Consti- 
tution and laws of the United States, and the President may 
interfere to enforce within a State the legitimate authority 
of the United States, even against the protest of the State 
authorities. 

All legislative powers originally belonged to the States. Original 
These powers are still vested in the State except such as retained by 
are denied to the State by the Constitution of the United '^® ^*^*®^ 



146 THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 

States. The people of the States in forming the United 
States Constitution conferred certain legislative powers 
(expressed, recited, enumerated) on the national Congress, 
denying these to the States, but they retained to the States 
all others. Congress may therefore exercise only those 
powers that are expressly granted, or implied, and no others. 
But in forming their State constitution the people of a State 
do not confer legislative power on their legislature. They may 
deny certain powers to their legislature, but that body may 
exercise all legislative powers that are not denied. The "great 
residuary mass of powers," too numerous to mention, abide 
with the State legislature. He who claims for the State 
legislature the power to pass an act or establish an institution 
does not have to 'prove his claim; the power exists unless 
some one can show some line or language in the national or 
State constitution that prohibits it. The State legislature 
is free, sovereign, and supreme to act in its own way, within 
these limits. With Congress it is just the opposite. No 
powers belong to that body except those that are granted. 
Congress must prove by the Constitution the power it 
claims, but a State legislature need not do so. 

In this explanation are found the constitutional limitations 
on legislative power in State and nation. 

States' Rights, Duties and Obligations 
The rights of the States are defined in several ways: 
(i) Certain powers are withheld from them. No State may 
enter into any treaty, coin money, lay duties on imports or 
exports or pass a bill of attainder or ex post facto law, or 
grant a title of nobihty. It is clear that such things may not 
be claimed by the States within their ''rights," since the 
Constitution forbids these powers to a State.^ 

(2) Certain fields of legislation are granted to the national 

1 For other powers denied to the States see Article I, Section 10 of 
the Constitution. 



THE STATES AND THEIR GOVERNMENT 147 

Government, and "rights" within those fields may not be 
claimed by the States. The national Government has an 
exclusive right on these matters. That is, if Congress chooses 
to legislate on such subjects the States are excluded from doing 
so. But if Congress fails or refuses to exercise its authority, 
the States have a right to enter the field of legislation in ques- 
tion. For illustration. Congress is given power to pass uniform 
laws on the subject of bankruptcies. Congress is not bound 
to exercise this power, and if it does not, each State may pass 
a bankruptcy act for itself. But if at any time Congress 
chooses to legislate on this subject all the bankrupt acts of 
the States fall and are superseded by the act of Congress. 
This excludes and limits the right of the State. 

(3) Judicial decisions and interpretations have limited 
and defined the rights of the States. Sometimes national 
authority, sometimes States' rights, have been upheld by the 
decisions of the Supreme Court, and to these decisions we must 
look to see what these rights and powers are. 

(4) States' rights have also been defined by usage and 
important facts in our national life. The right to nullify an 
act of Congress and the right to secede from the Union have 
been claimed by some of the States. The greatest debates 
in American history arose over these "rights." It seemed 
impossible to settle by argument the great controversy that 
arose over the meaning of the Constitution on these points, 
but it has now been settled by the events of our history, espe- 
cially by the great fact of the Civil War, that the rights of 
nullification and secession do not belong to the States. The 
power of the Supreme Court to act as the final judge of the 
Constitution and to tell what rights belong to the States and 
what to the nation is another illustration of these rights 
and powers being determined by usage and the events of our 
history rather than by written law. 

(5) Certain positive rights and privileges are guaranteed 
to the States by the Federal Constitution: 



148 THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 

(a) The right to a RepubUcan Form of Government. This 
is guaranteed by the United States to every State in the Union. 
If rival governments are set up in a State, each claiming to 
be the rightful one, the one recognized by the Federal Govern- 
ment has always prevailed. As a rule the Federal Government 
will not interfere in such a conflict until circumstances seem to 
make it necessary.^ 

(b) The right to protection against invasion and domestic 
violence. No State may, of its own right, defend itself in 
war with another State or with a foreign power, unless it is 
actually invaded or is in such imminent danger as will not 
admit of delay.- Therefore the State has a right to rely 
upon the nation for protection in this respect. And when 
it comes to preserving peace and safety and law and order 
within a State, we find that the whole power of the nation 
may be arrayed. (As to the process by which the national 
Government secures this right to the States see p. 255.) 

(c) It is the right of every State to have equal representa- 
tion with every other State in the United States Senate, and 
of this right no State can be deprived except by its own 
consent. 

(d) Every State has the right to its territorial integrity. 
No new State may be created out of the territory of one of the 
States, nor may any State be divided nor two States joined 
into one without the consent of the State or States concerned. 

As States have rights, privileges, and powers, they also have 
duties and obligations. 

(i) It is the duty of every State to surrender criminals or 
"fugitives from justice," escaping from other States, and tak- 
ing refuge within its borders. The criminal is "extradited" 
from one State to the other, as a criminal may be from one 
nation to another. The Governor of the State /row which the 

1 See Dorr's Rebellion in Rhode Island, and Woodburn's American 
Republic and Its Government, pp. 172-173. 

2 Constitution, Article I, Section 10, Clause 3. 



THE STATES AND THEIR GOVERNMENT 149 

criminal has fled, makes a demand or request (issues extradi- Extradition of 

. Criminals 

tion papers) to the governor of the State to which the alleged 
criminal has fled, and it is then the duty of the latter Governor 
to issue a writ authorizing the arrest and detention of the 
criminal and his surrender to the sheriff or constable who comes 
from the other State to take the criminal back for trial and 
punishment. 

There is no national law providing for the capture and 
return of a criminal fleeing from a State, and no State can be 
compelled to cooperate in the matter. But interstate comity 
(politeness and good will) has nearly always led to the fuU- 
fiUment of this duty on the part of all the States. No 
State will refuse such a request from a sister State unless for 
some special or political reason. It was thought when the" 
Constitution was made that interstate comity and good will 
would secure the return of fugitive slaves as well as fugitive 
criminals, but the anti-slavery spirit that afterwards arose, 
led many of the Northern States to refuse their good oflices 
in this direction, and the South demanded a national Fugitive 
Slave Law to secure the return of their slaves. If the States 
should act in the same way toward fugitive criminals, a 
national Fugitive Criminal Law might be called for and 
passed, taking upon the national Government the duty 
which the States were refusing to fulfill. 

(2) Another duty of the States is to give the same civil 
and political rights to the citizens of other States as they give 
to their own citizens. A State may not discriminate with its 
privileges and burdens in its treatment of citizens of the 
United States. It cannot, for instance, impose higher taxes 
on the property within the State that may be owned by 
citizens of other States than is imposed on its own citizens 
holding similar property. 

(3) Each State is bound by the Constitution to "give full 
faith and credit to the public acts, records, and judicial pro- 
ceedings of every other State." A will, a deed, an inheritance 



150 



THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 



The States 
are bound by 
one another's 
Acts and 
Judicial 
Proceedings 



Duties of 
the States 



or bequest recognized in one State will be respected or enforced 
in other States. A record of naturalization in one State will 
hold good for all others. The facts brought out in a case at 
law and placed in the court's record will be recognized without 
retrial in any other State. If a couple are married in one State 
and have the record to prove.it, they must be considered as 
legally married in every other State. 

Some duties of the States are taken for granted. It is, of 
course, their duty to elect Senators and Representatives to 
Congress, and presidential Electors (otherwise they would 
paralyze the national Government), to treat one another with 
respect, and to act as loyal members of the Union. Without 
loyalty and cooperation on the part of the States, the United 
States would cease to exist. 



Form of 
the State 
Legislature 



Permanent 
Character of 
the State 
Senate 



The State Legislature 

Each State has a central government made up of three 
departments, the legislative, the executive, and the judicial. 

All the State legislatures are bicameral in form. The mem- 
bers of both houses are chosen by popular vote, by the same 
voters, but in electoral districts of different sizes usually. 
The upper house, or State Senate, is always fewer in number 
than the lower house, so the senatorial districts are fewer and 
larger than the representative districts. In a populous 
county, from which several members of both houses are elected, 
they may all be elected in a common ticket by all the voters 
of the county. The senatorial term is generally longer than 
that of the representative. If the representatives are elected 
for two years, the senators are elected for four years. 

The State senate, like that of the United States, is a "per- 
manent body," half its members being in one class and haK 
in another, so that half are old members or "hold-over sena- 
tors" who sit in two consecutive legislatures. The eligible 
age of the State senator is usually higher than that of the 
Representative, and in earlier days when property was the 




State Capitol, St. Paxil, Minnesota 




State Capitol, Albany, New Yoex 












m ■'w^ 

^ 



#fc';^«^*p- *• 









THE STATES AND THEIR GOVERNMENT 



151 



basis of representation he was required to possess and repre- 
sent more property. 

State senators and representatives are apportioned among 
the several counties of the State accordinsr to population and Apportionment 

. of the State 

it is usually provided by the constitution that the electoral Legislature 
districts be equal in numbers of inhabitants, but the "gerry- 
mander" used for partisan purposes often prevents fairness 
and equality. The county is usually regarded as the electoral 
unit and some State constitutions forbid that counties should 
be divided in making up electoral districts. In the North- 
eastern States the towns (or townships) are generally recog- 
nized as the units and provision is made for the representation 
of towns rather than numbers of people. This system has come 
down from early colonial times when settlements, plantations, 
and towns were represented on an equality in the legislature, 
the Assembly of the colony being somewhat like a federation of 
towns. With the rise of cities in the nineteenth century very 
great inequalities in representation came about, a big city like 
New Haven in Connecticut having no more representatives 
in the State legislature than a small town of 500 people. 

Senators and representatives are required, either by the 
law of the Constitution or by custom, to live in the districts 
which they represent. 

State legislatures vary in size, from fifty-two in the whole 
legislature of Delaware (seventeen of these in the senate) 
to 321 in the House of Representatives in New Hampshire. 
The pay of members also varies, from one dollar a day in Rhode 
Island to $1500 for a year in New York. Usually the pay is 
on a per diem basis, from four to eight dollars a day and mileage. 

The legislature is the law-making body for the State. It 
may create offices and corporations, grant charters, regulate 
the local government in counties and cities, raise and expend 
money, and pass all kinds of laws for the people of the State 
which are not forbidden by the constitution of the State or 
of the United States. 



Size of 

State 

Legislatures 



Powers of the 
Legislature 



How Laws 
are made 



152 THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 

A bill, which is the draft of a law, may be introduced by a 
member into either house. ^ The bill is then referred to the 
proper committee and if the committee is favorable to its 
enactment into law the bill is reported back to the house 
with a recommendation that it be passed. The bill having 
been printed then comes up for its second reading. It may 
be rejected or amended, but if the majority is favorable to its 
passage it will be passed to engrossment; that is, placed in 
writing on the record. Later the bill is reported to the house 
for third reading and passage. Usually a bill may be passed 
by a majority of the quorum, which is the number required 
by the constitution for the transaction of business. But 
some constitutions provide that a majority of all the mem- 
bers elected to the house shall be required for the passage 
of a bill. On the final vote the "yeas" and "nays" of the 
members are recorded, as a means of placing the responsi- 
bility on each member for the passage, or defeat, of legislation. 

After a bill has passed one house it is received by the other 
house, where it goes through essentially the same process. 
The bill may be amended in the second house. If this occurs 
the bill must go back to the house which first passed it, to 
enable that house to consider the amendments. If the houses 
disagree on the form of the bill it cannot become a law, unless, 
by a "conference committee" (a committee made up of 
merhbers of both houses), the two houses can reconcile, or 
compromise their differences and arrange such terms in the 
bill as both houses will accept. 

If the Governor signs a bill, after it has passed both houses, 
it becomes a law within a fixed time (it may be 60 or 90 days) 
after the adjournment of the legislature. If the bill "declares 
an emergency" it becomes a law immediately after the Gov- 
ernor's signature is attached. If the Governor should veto 
the bill, as the State constitution usually gives him power to 

^ The constitution usually requires that revenue bills shall originate in 
the lower house. 



THE STATES AND THEIR GOVERNMENT 153 

do, then the bill has to go back to the house in which it origi- 
nated for reconsideration. By a number of State constitu- 
tions a bare majority of both houses may pass the bill over 
the Governor's veto; by other constitutions a two-thirds 
majority is required. 

The State Executive 

The Executive Department of a State consists of the Gov- 
ernor, the Lieutenant Governor, and certain administrative 
officers, such as the Secretary of State, Auditor of State, 
Treasurer of State, Attorney General, Superintendent of 
Public Instruction. There are also a number of Tax Com- 
missioners, and Boards of Control for educational and benevo- 
lent institutions, either appointed by the Governor or elected Administrative 
by the legislature, and in some States the Regents, or Trustees 
of the State universities, are elected by the people. 

The subordinate State officers, like the Secretary, Auditor, 
and Treasurer of State (usually) hold their offices independent 
of the Governor. They are not related to him like a cabinet 
to the President or as a council of advisers, though the law 
may provide that the Governor with two or three of these 
administrative officers may compose the State Finance Board, 
or other Boards which may exercise very important functions 
in caring for the financial and general welfare of the State. 
But the work of these administrative officers is not political; 
they do not determine the public policy of the State, but 
carry out certain duties laid down for them by law. The 
legislature determines the policy of the State and the executive 
officers are, each for himself, responsible to the people. The 
Governor and Attorney General may bring suit against one 
of the State officers for malfeasance or misconduct, and thus 
cause his displacement, or he may be impeached by the process 
provided for in the State Constitution. 

The Governors are now elected by a direct vote of the people. 
Formerly they were, in some States, elected by the legislature. 



154 



THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 



Removal of the 
Governor 



Election, Term, xhey hold officc froHi One to four years and receive salaries 
^^' ^ ranging from $2000 in some States to $10,000 per year in 

New York. They are removable by impeachment, after trial 
before the State Senate sitting as a court, or before a court 
of the Judiciary. 

The Governor has numerous duties: (i) To see that the laws 
of the State are faithfully executed and that peace and order 
are maintained. If local officers fail in their duty in this 
respect the Governor may exercise the higher and full powers 
of the State conferred upon him by law. (2) To convene the 
legislature when occasion requires and to recommend desirable 
legislation; (3) to make such appointments as the Constitution 
and the laws allow; (4) to act as commander-in-chief of the 
State militia, and in this capacity to repel invasion and suppress 
riot, rebeUion, and insurrection; (5) to grant reprieves and 
pardons, though the State may have a Board of Pardons to 
consult with the Governor or to give advice and recommen- 
dation on cases that are presented ; (6) to issue writs for the 
election of senators and representatives when vacancies 
occur; (7) to secure by extradition criminals escaping to 
other States. 

We do not attempt here to name all the duties that may 
be imposed upon the Governor in the various States. Since 
he is often a member of a number of administrative State 
Boards his office is likely to be a hard-working one, subjecting 
him to constant calls and duties. He is honored as the head 
of the State, representing its official dignity on pubHc occasion 
by his presence and address. His patronage (by appoint- 
ments) may be extensive, though his office for the most part 
represents prestige rather than power. In times of strikes, 
riots, or resistance to law, the character of the Governor 
becomes of vital concern, and his firmness, wisdom, and 
executive energy, or his lack of these quahties, may be most 
important in their bearing on the welfare of the State. The 
Governorship in one of the leading States may prove to be 



THE STATES AND THEIR GOVERNMENT 



155 



The Governor's 
Veto 



Lieutenant 
Governor 



of party and political importance, as it may put him in line 
for political promotion to the Senatorship, the Vice Presidency, 
or the Presidency. 

The Governors in all the States but three have the veto 
power. In some States his veto may be overridden by a 
bare majority of the legislature, but even in such cases the 
Governor's veto may be effective, as it may cause delay and 
public exposure of a bad measure and lead to its defeat upon 
reconsideration. The Governor's standing with the people 
oftentimes depends upon his courageous and effective use of 
his veto. 

The Lieutenant Governor corresponds to the Vice President. 
In most of the States he is ex officio the President of the State 
Senate, and to this his functions are Umited. In case of the 
death or disabiUty or resignation of the Governor the Lieu- 
tenant Governor succeeds to the governorship. 

The power to remove a State ofi&cer is vested either in the 
Governor or the Legislature, or it is done by the Governor '^^ Removing 

° ^ -' Power 

(without option on his part) upon address by both houses of 
the legislature. 

The State Judiciary 

Each State has a judicial system of its own. There are 
Supreme Courts, Circuit and County Courts, intermediate 
appellate courts, Probate Courts, and City Police Courts. 

In earlier days the State judges were generally appointed 
by the Executive, as the United States judges are now, or 
they may have been chosen by the legislature. Popular 
election became more frequent under the constitutions of the 
new States that came into the Union in the era and under the 
influence of Jeffersonian democracy, 1801-1850. The judges 
are now elected by the people in a majority of the States (31 
out of 48). With the growth of the democratic spirit the 
terms of the judges also became shorter. Formerly the tenure 
was usually for life or good behavior, as now in the United 



An Elective 
Judiciary 



156 



THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 



States Courts. Judges could be removed only after being 
convicted upon impeachment or, in some States, upon an ad- 
dress requesting their removal presented by both houses of 
the legislature, a two- thirds vote being required. This made 
the judges secure in their offices so long as they conducted 
themselves in a manner becoming a judge. Now in many 
States frequent elections occur, and new and untried judges 
are constantly coming to the bench, unless the judge's office 
is treated (as it should be) by the party and nominating 
forces as entirely a nonpartisan and nonpolitical office. The 
terms of the judges vary from two years in Vermont to 
twenty-one years in Pennsylvania, averaging about eight 
years in all the States. The salaries vary from $2000 per 
year in Oregon to $17,500 per year in New York. 

It is contended by many that popular election, short terms, 
and low salaries have had a very bad effect in lowering the 
character of the State judiciary; that the choice of judges is 
really thrown into the hands of political wire-pullers and that 
judicial places are used by unscrupulous politicians for party 
purposes to reward party workers; that short terms compel 
the judges to keep on good terms with the political manipu- 
lators and they cannot therefore administer the law without 
fear or favor; that small salaries prevent leading lawyers from 
accepting the judicial office, as they can make much more 
money in their practice. As the result of all these influences 
it is asserted that the judges in many States are much inferior 
to the lawyers who practice before them and much inferior 
to the judges of earlier times. 

On the other hand it may be said that the most astute 
and money making lawyers may not make the best judges; 
that it is only distance that "lends enchantment" to the 
judges of a past age, and that present-day judges are just 
as good, and that our State courts have been very creditable 
bodies; that while political influences may affect the con- 
duct of some of our county and circuit courts, yet wherein 



THE STATES AND THEIR GOVERNMENT 1 57 

this is so it does not gain favor for the judge among the people; 
and that popular election may have its advantages in restrain- 
ing a judge who might be inclined to be too autocratic or to 
'be much governed by class interest. And since State judges 
also have power to declare legislative acts unconstitutional 
they may be governed in their decisions by some class or 
political bias, and by "judge-made law" they may attempt 
to control or interfere with the public policy of the State. 

State judges are sworn to support both the constitution of 
the State and of the United States, and they may declare 
unconstitutional not only an act of the State legislature but 
also an act of Congress. In the latter case the decision would ^*^*® Courts 

and the 

not, of course, be final, but might be reviewed and reversed constitution 
by a national court. It is the special function of the State 
court to expound the State constitution and explain and ap- 
ply the State law in cases that may arise. As in the United 
States courts, the State judges decide on constitutional ques- 
tions only as cases arise in suits at law. This may cause de- 
lay in determining whether a statute is really valid and will 
continue to stand. Some States in order to meet this difficulty 
require the Supreme Court of the State to deliver an opinion 
on the constitutionality of an act immediately upon its passage 
or as a condition of its passage. Such opinions, however, 
cannot have the same weight or binding effect as a final 
official decision following litigation, and a judge may not feel 
bound in his final decision on a case by his previously expressed 
opinions. Upon hearing a case at law the judge may be 
influenced by what appears in the practical working of the act 
and by able arguments of attorneys in the case. 

Administration of Justice and the Punishment of Crime 

It is, as we have seen, the State and Local Governments 
which have, in the far larger number of cases, the task of 
repressing crime and administering justice. It is in the city 
police courts or the State circuit courts that most of our 



158 



THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 



Arrest of 
Accused 



Examination 
of Accused 



Grand Jury 



The 
Trial 



Constitutional 
Rights of 
Accused 



criminals are arraigned and punished (or not punished) and 
in which our laws are efficiently administered or are allowed 
to be loosely and corruptly applied. The Federal Govern- 
ment has jurisdiction over very few cases. 

An offender against the law, or an accused person, may be 
arrested on a warrant issued by the proper magistrate; or 
he may be arrested by an officer of the law without a warrant 
if he is caught in a criminal act. 

The accused is brought before a court for examination. If 
there is no evidence of his guilt he will be set at liberty. If his 
guilt seems probable the court will order the accused to be 
committed to jail to await the action of the grand jury, or to 
be admitted to bail; that is, the accused will be allowed to 
have his freedom if some reliable persons become security for 
his appearance in court for trial or investigation when desired. 
The grand jury, a varying number of men, will inquire into 
the case in secret session, seeking evidence and examining 
witnesses; and if this body concludes that the accused is 
probably guilty he will be formally indicted. The public 
prosecutor (prosecuting attorney) conducts the investigation 
before the grand jury and he will draw up the formal charges 
or "true bill," and later prosecute the case before the trial 
court. The indictment sets forth the nature of the crime 
and the charges which it is proposed to prove. 

The accused is then arraigned in open court and he is 
asked to say whether he is guilty or not guilty. If he "pleads 
guilty" (admits his guilt), the court or judge decides upon 
the penalty. If he pleads "not guilty," the trial proceeds 
unless the attorney for the accused by successfully objecting 
to the jurisdiction of the court, or by some "plea in abate- 
ment," secures a dismissal of the case. The trial consists of 
the legal investigation of the evidence. 

A man accused of crime has certain constitutional rights: 
(i) A speedy and impartial trial before an impartial jury. 
(2) Compulsory process to obtain witnesses in his favor. 




A Court Room for the Trial of Cases 








.Prisoners Exercising in a Prison Y^ 



AN ACT 



Authorizing cities of the third class to appropriate money 
annually for music in public parks and in other 
public places 

1 Section 1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Repre- 

2 sentatives of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in General Assemblff 

3 met and it is hereby enacted hy the authority of the same That 

4 from and after the passage of this act it shall be law- 

5 ful for any city of the third class to appropriate public 

6 moneys for the purpose of having music in any public 

7 park or place At the time of making of the annual 

8 appropriation ordinance any city council in a city of 

9 the third class may appropriate such sum of money as 

10 in their judgment shall be necessary for the purpose of 

11 supplying music in any public park or place 




./P.,£f'0a^^^/-r-r-.4rr/. 

Spewcer Of the House of Representatives. 



Approved — The. . . ?cT.>i A'.v. , 



..day of A. D. 1917. 




Facsimile of a St.ate Law 



THE STATES AND THEIR GOVERNMENT 159 

Those who know circumstances in his favor may not be 
allowed to absent themselves from the trial or to refuse to 
testify. (3) A copy of the accusation against him. (4) To have 
counsel (a lawyer) for his defense and to be confronted by the 
witnesses against him. (5) He may not be twice placed on 
trial (in jeopardy) for the same offense. (6) He is presumed 
innocent until proven guilty. 

The petit jury is the trial jury, — a body of twelve men The Pem 
legally selected to hear the evidence and decide the case. ^^^ 
The judge instructs the jury how to decide "according to the 
law and the evidence." That is, the judge explains the law 
to the jury and the jury decides on the facts of the case. The 
members of the jury are sworn to try the case according to 
the evidence. Before the trial begins both the prosecution 
and the defense may object for valid reasons to certain 
talesmen serving on the jury, and each side is also allowed 
a certain number of "peremptory challenges." That is, 
they may exclude certain talesmen arbitrarily. Sometimes, 
in this way, the jury is "fixed" to "hang," that is, to 
come to no decision, and there is delay, another trial, and 
added expense. 

The trial consists of hearing the witnesses under the exami- 
nation and cross-examination of attorneys; the arguments 
of the lawyers; the charge of the judge to the jury; and the 
jury's deliberation and decision. In criminal cases the 
verdict of the jury must be unanimous, and this often results 
in the "hanging" of the jury, when eleven "stubborn men" 
will not agree with the one who may object to a verdict of 
guilty. Under the jury system it is made difficult to convict 
a criminal from the fact that the prosecution must prove 
"beyond a reasonable doubt" every charge brought in the 
indictment, and sometimes the indictment is not properly 
drawn up. If the jury's verdict is one of acquittal the ac- xhe 
cused is immediately discharged. If it is one of conviction, Verdict 
the attorney for the accused may make a motion for a new 



i6o 



THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 



trial or appeal to a higher court, and sometimes the culprit 
is released by a technicality in the trial. 

Because under the jury system guilty murderers are so 
often set free, and because there is so often a "miscarriage of 
justice," and the prejudices of jurymen are played upon by 
skillful attorneys, and sometimes are corruptly influenced, 
many people have lost respect for the "sacred right of trial 
by jury." A demand has arisen for court and jury reform, 
to prevent abuses and delays, if need be by modifying the 
form and method of the trial and verdict. Many States in 
civil cases (involving property and money) allow a verdict 
by less than the whole jury. In criminal cases where life and 
liberty are involved, the theory (and seemingly the practice) 
of our legal procedure is that it is thought better that ninety- 
nine guilty persons should escape than that one innocent 
person should be convicted. What is needed is quick, 
decisive, and just action by the courts, not that punishment 
should be more severe or extreme (and never cruel), but that 
it should be speedy and certain and administered with a view 
to reforming the offender and fitting him for better citizenship.^ 

Defects and Failures of State Governments 

Some fundamental changes in State Government have fre- 
quently been discussed.^ The Governor of Arizona recom- 
mended a small unicameral legislature of from five to fifteen 
members, since the State is working under the initiative and 
referendum (see p. 36). The Governor of Washington pro- 



^ The study of criminology is beyond the scope of this book, but the 
student who may be interested in the subject of the prevention of crime 
and the treatment of criminals may profitably consult, in addition to 
text-books in Sociology, Havelock Ellis's The Criminal, A. C. Hall's Crime 
in Us Relation to Social Progress, and C. R. Henderson's The Dependent, 
Defective and Criminal Classes. 

2 Notice the Proceedings and Results of the New York Constitu- 
tional Convention of 19 15. 



THE STATES AND THEIR GOVERNMENT 



l6l 



posed a single chamber of twenty-five members. The Governor 
of Kansas suggested a small legislature of one house for a term 
of four or six years with the Governor as a member. Such 
proposals have come, no doubt, from observation of the suc- 
cessful experiment of cities with the commission plan of city 
government. 

These and other proposals suggest vital changes that go to 
the very root of the whole system of State governments and 
they come from a feeling that these governments have failed 
to satisfy the needs of the States. It is apparent that in 
many ways our State governments are inefficient and ex- 
travagant. The official life of the State is without leader- 
ship, without unity, without clear and direct responsibility 
to the people. The State governments arose at a time when 
men were suspicious of government and their officers. Our 
fathers wished to restrain their governing agencies and bind 
them down with constitutional restrictions. They wanted a 
government that was powerless to do harm, — the best was 
the one that did the least (see p. 76). The Constitution 
was for the purpose of tying the hands of a bad Legislature 
or a bad Governor rather than to make it essential to the 
people to elect good ones. 

It was for this reason that our fathers sought to divide 
their government into three parts ("separation of the powers, " 

s , , , r • to Efficiency in 

see p. 199), each to prevent the other from gomg astray, — state 

the Governor to veto the legislature, the legislature to check Governments 

the Governor, the courts to protect the people from executive 

and legislative abuses, with the constitution over all to require 

certain methods of behavior and to safeguard the people against 

any form of official misconduct. This distrust of government 

was erected into a system, — the system of "checks and 

balances" which is based, as Mr. Bryce has said, on 

the "doctrine of original sin in politics," — that no one 

can be safely intrusted with any substantial authority. It 

represented the Jeffersonian faith that "free government is 



Early Fear of 
too much 
Official Power 



Obstructions 



1 62 THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 

founded in jealousy, while confidence is everywhere the parent 
of despotism." ^ 

What Jefferson had in mind here was the vital idea that 
"eternal vigilance is the price of Uberty" and that the people 
should not go to sleep in serene confidence that their elected 
rulers will be sure to manage their government well. He 
wished the officers of government to be frequently responsible 
to the people, and he was reluctant to intrust to them much 
real power. 
The result has been a weakness, almost a breakdown, in our 
Lack of Unity, gtatc governments on the positive side. The lack of unity, 
Constructive responsibility, and recognized leadership has prevented con- 
Power structive work from being done, and the system of " checks and 

balances," originally designed for democratic reasons, has 
really prevented a real democratic popular control of the 
State government. The State service is costly, the work is 
poorly done, there is lack of cooperation between officers, 
there is failure to get before the legislature the facts essential 
to appropriations and legislation, — and through all a lack of 
unity and responsibility. The legislature has control over the 
State finances and over the creation and powers of many 
offices. The Governor lacks control over executive and ad- 
ministrative action. Many State officers are elected who 
are not at all accountable to the Governor and who exercise 
within their respective spheres very important executive 
powers. There is a large increase of State activities, with 
many commissions, boards, and new departments with many 
administrative powers, but without any central or head con- 
trol lodged in a chief administrator, like the Governor. 

No big business firm is ever managed so. In such a firm 
there is always a chief or head or foreman with power to oversee 
and direct. Responsible leadership and effective collective 
action are just as essential in a State's government. Somebody 
must direct and lead and say what shall be done. But our 
1 Jefferson in the Kentucky Resolutions, 1798. 



THE STATES AND THEIR GOVERNMENT 163 

ordinary State constitution, with its system of divided powers 
and responsibilities, tends to prevent this. Consequently there 
has grown up an outside non-official irresponsible partisan 
organization, — the party machine, with the Boss at its head, 
— with a dominating influence in determining the conduct of 
the legislature. This has led to ''log-rolling" legislation and 
"pork barrel" politics. The legislators vote to satisfy their 
constituencies in small geographical areas or "to make them- 
selves solid" in their own localities by furthering schemes of 
mere local interest and development, or to carry out party 
obhgations (assumed by the party leader) to certain moneyed 
interests. The tax system, the school system, road building, 
the suffrage laws, home rule for cities, the labor laws, social 
betterment, control of public utilities in the interest of all the 
people, — all these and other larger questions of State often 
are allowed to "go by the board" while local log-rolling 
interests or party interests are carefully safeguarded. 

The real leadership is in the Boss who is in control of the 
legislature, and who from his hotel room issues instructions 
as to what the "organization" wants done. The legislators 
who want offices and party nominations and who are at the 
head of important committees in the legislature, line up to 
vote as the Boss instructs, or as the party caucus decides, ^°^\ , 

. . '^ -^ Leadership and 

and there the influence of the Boss is likely to be all-prevaihng. "invisible 
So the Governor representing the people is not the leader, but 
the Boss representing the party organization, who may have 
"made" the Governor by permitting his nomination by the 
party, is the real leader. This Boss is sometimes corrupt and, 
working in the dark, gives us the "invisible government" 
that really controls the legislation and poUcy of the State. 

Proposed Reforms of State Government 

What is the remedy? It is proposed to make constitutional 
provision for official leadership and to locate this leadership 
in the Governor of the State. There can be no intelligent 



Government ' 



164 



THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 



Need of 

Executive 

Leadership 



A Ministerial, 
Responsible 
Cabinet 
Government 
proposed for 
the State 



government without leadership. The party is an efi&cient 
organization, unified and under leadership, with its central 
and local committees and workers all cooperating to control 
the State and its policies. The Boss represents this organiza- 
tion and he will be the State leader until the people provide 
for themselves a better one. The people have not voted 
to put this Boss in power, but he wields a power which the 
people cannot take away except by turning his party out of 
power, and then the people would still be governed by a 
Boss, with only a change of party name. 

Instead of this Boss control and leadership it is proposed 
to make the Governor both the leader of the party and the 
constitutional official leader of the State, to direct the State's 
policy so long as the people will sustain him. To do this, it 
has been proposed to make a fundamental constitutional 
readjustment between the legislature and the Governor, 
on the one hand, and the Governor and the administrative 
officers on the other. It is proposed to introduce a modified 
form of parhamentary government. The constitutional change, 
as proposed, would allow the people to elect by the Short 
Ballot (see p. 45) the responsible head of the State, the 
Governor, and the Lieutenant Governor. The other adminis- 
trative officers (Secretary of State, Auditor of State, Treasurer 
of State, Attorney General, etc.) would become a Cabinet to 
the Governor, appointed by him and subject to his removal. 
The Governor and his advisers, the Cabinet, are to be em- 
powered to originate policies and bills, to present them to the 
legislature, and to defend them there. The making of the 
Budget — determining how much money shall be raised and 
how it shall be raised — is to be transferred from the legis- 
lature and its committees to the Governor and his Cabinet. 
This would tend to make the Governor an official State political 
leader, who, as leader of the majority party, would become 
responsible for the policy and efficiency of the State govern- 
ment. The Governor and his advisers would decide and act 



THE STATES AND THEIR GOVERNMENT 165 

for the people of the whole State, responsive to and under the 
guidance of public opinion. It is believed that this would 
introduce order, efficiency, and integrity and destroy the 
corrupt unofficial despotism of the Boss. 

It is claimed that this would bring the voters into direct ^'^^<^^ Popular 

° Control through 

control of their State government. It would increase the value Executive 
of their State government in their estimation and add to their Leadership 
interest in their own government. Their attention would be 
invited and concentrated, and their understanding and public 
spirit appealed to. Voting would be conducted for public in- 
terests, not for personal or private interests. "The system 
which will be framed to accomplish positive policies will 
cultivate in the voter positive political convictions. It will 
encourage the development of leaders capable of formulating 
and realizing these popular convictions. It will concentrate 
public opinion at elections on the work of the Government 
already done or on the work proposed for the future, and the 
State government will become a government of the people, 
reflecting their preferences and convictions." ^ 

TOPICS AND QUERIES 

1. Debate: "Resolved that the Canadian Federal system is better than 

the American." 

2. "The Union is older than any of the States, and, in fact, it created 

them as States" — Lincoln's Message, July 4, 1861. Prove that 
this is true to history, or untrue. 

3. In what respect is the power residing in a State legislature like 

that of the Parliament of England? In what respect different? 

4. Are the "rights of the States" more or less than they were in 1789? 

Why? 

5. Why have State governments been growing weaker and the national 

government stronger? What have economic and social changes 
had to do with this? 

6. How is "invisible government" to be checked in State legislatures? 

^ The New Republic, August 14, 1915. See also Professor C. A. 
Beard on Reconstructing State Government, in The New Republic of 
August 21, 1915, and Bulletin 61 of the Bureau of Municipal Research, 
and Herbert Croly's Promise of American Life. 



1 66 THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 

7. Why would it not have been better for the South to have won in the 
Civil War, so as to have preserved more local self-government 
against the growth of national powers? 

REFERENCES 

Ashley, Roscoe L. The American Federal State, pp. 344-362. 

Beard, C. A. American Government and Politics, Part III, pp. 428-577. 

A full discussion of State government. 
Beard, C. A. Readings in American Government and Politics, pp. 

391-492. 
Bryce, James. The American Commonwealth, Vol. I, Part II, pp. 

41 1-5 1 7. Of special value. 
Childs, Richard S., " The State Manager Plan," in The National Municipal 

Review, November, 1917. 
Forman, S. E. Advanced Civics, pp. 162-183, "Suggestive Questions 

and Exercises." 
Guitteau, William B. Government and Politics in the United States, 

Chaps. VII-XI, pp. 74-128. See the References and Questions. 
Hinsdale, B. A. The American Government, pp. 369-391. 
Holcombe, A. N. State Government in the United States. 
Mathews, John M. Principles of American State Administration. 
McCleary, James T. Studies in Civics, pp. 71-104. Brief summary 

with "pertinent questions." 
Reinsch, Paul R. American Legislatures and Legislative Methods. 
Reinsch, Paul S. Readings on American State Governments, pp. 1-14, 

"The Governor"; pp. 41-56, "The Legislature" (Samuel P. 

Orth); pp. 140-157, "The Judiciary." 
Roosevelt, Theodore. American Ideals, "Phases of State Legislation." 
Woodburn, James A. The American Republic and its Government, 

pp. 342-361. A brief presentation. 



CHAPTER VII 

THE GOVERNMENT OF TERRITORIES AND 
DEPENDENCIES 

The government of our Territories and Dependencies is 
under the control of Congress. The Constitution gives to 
that body "power to dispose of and make all needful rules 
and regulations respecting the territory and other property 
belonging to the United States." The Constitution did not 
expressly give the power to acquire territory, but that power 
has resulted from the inherent nature of the Constitution and 
of the national government created by it. 

All of the contiguous continental Territories have now 
been admitted as States. In the beginning of the Union the 
old Continental Congress, as a means of inducing the States 
to cede to the United States the lands which they claimed in 
the West, passed a notable resolution (Oct. 1780), promising 
not to hold the lands as subject Territories but to erect them 
"into equal republican States to be admitted to the Union 
with all the rights and privileges" that the other States 
enjoyed. According to this the custom has been for Con- -^"^^ Organiz- 

r ^ . , . 1 ing Acts for 

gress to erect out of newly acquired territory separately Territories. 

organized Territories, to provide civil government for them 

(by an Organizing Act), giving each Territory a large measure 

of self-government, and when it has acquired a population 

equal to the number entitled to elect a member of Congress, 

to admit the Territory to statehood. "■ 

^ When the Ordinance of 1787 was passed (which was the first 
territorial organizing act of Congress) to provide a civil government 
for the Old Northwest, it was provided that one of its Territories might 

167 



. i68 



THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 



Colonialism or 
Imperialism. 



How a 
Territory 
Became a 
State 



This guarantee of self-governing statehood was given in 
the case of all acquisitions of territory until 1898, when by 
the Spanish-American war the Insular Possessions were ob- 
tained. That treaty of acquisition permitted that these 
islands might be governed by Congress as Dependencies. 
The privileges and guarantees of the Constitution were not 
extended to these islands either by the treaty or by the 
Constitution's own power {ex propria vigor e), but a resolu- 
tion of Congress might extend these privileges at any time. 
Until this is done the people of these islands are not citi- 
zens but subjects of the United States, and the islands are 
under the absolute power of Congress without restraint by 
the limitations of power imposed by the Constitution. It 
was decided by the Supreme Court in what is known as the 
"insular cases" that these islands were not a part of the 
United States but were possessions of the United States, 
and because of this it was charged that America had started 
toward imperialism; that from being made up of self- 
governing colonies and States we had now come to hold 
foreign peoples in subjection} 

When a continental Territory was ready for statehood its 
Legislature petitioned Congress by a "memorial" to pass an 
"enabling act." This act enabled, or authorized, the people 
of the Territory to elect a constitutional convention for the 



be admitted to the Union when it had attained a population of 60,000. 
This required number increased from decade to decade as successive 
apportionment acts required a larger population for each congressman. 
(See p. 272.) Nevada was admitted in 1864, before it had a sufl&cient 
population, in order to secure enough States to ratify the Thirteenth 
Amendment; and some Territories have been kept out for party- 
reasons after having more than the required number. 

1 The people of Porto Rico have been made citizens by act of Con- 
gress. See p. 5. The inhabitants of the recently acquired Danish 
Islands became citizens of the United States by the treaty of acquisition 
(191 7), except in the case of those who might choose within a year to 
retain their Danish citizenship. Very few chose to remain subjects of 
Denmark. 



TERRITORIES AND DEPENDENCIES 



169 



purpose of framing a State Constitution. When this had 
been drawn up and ratified by the people of the Territory (a 
privilege usually allowed to the voters) it was presented for 
the approval of Congress. If Congress approved, a resolu- 
tion was passed accepting the new State, and if the President 
did not interpose his veto but signed the admitting act, the 
Secretary of State would be authorized to declare the formal 
act of admission.^ 

Congress has provided a government for Alaska and the Alaska 
Island Dependencies. Since 191 2 Alaska has had a Governor, 
appointed by the President, and a representative legislature, 
though its legislative powers are quite limited and much of 
the government is administered directly from Washington. 
The War Department controls the telegraph lines and the 
means of communication, while the schools for the natives 
are administered by the Bureau of Education. Territorial 
self-government is yet to be allowed to Alaska. 

1 To its original territory the United States has made additions as 
follows: 







Country 




Territory "acquired" 


Year 


from which 
acquired 


Method of acquisition 


Louisiana 


1803 


France 


Purchase 


Florida 


1819 


Spain 


Purchase 


Texas 


184s 




Annexation 


Oregon 


1846 




Boundary fixed by treaty 


First Mexican Cession 


1848 


Mexico 


Conquest and treaty 


Gadsden Purchase 


i8S3 


Mexico 


Purchase 


Alaska 


1867 


Russia 


Purchase 


Hawaii 


1898 




Annexation 


Philippines, Guam, and 








Porto Rico 


1899 


Spain 


Conquest and treaty 


Tutuila Island 


1899 




Treaty arrangement 


Danish West Indies 


1917 


Denmark 


Purchase 



170 THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 

Hawau In Hawaii, annexed in 1898, the legislature is composed of 

two houses, the "Senate" and the "House." The Senate 
is composed of fifteen members elected for a term of four 
years. The islands are divided into four districts, each district 
electing from two to four Senators according to population. 
The House of Representatives has thirty-six members, elected 
every two years from six districts, the districts choosing 
from four to six members. The voting privilege is conferred 
only upon male citizens of the United States who are twenty- 
one years of age, who have resided in the territory one year 
and in the district three months. The voter must be registered 
and be able to read or write either the English or the Hawaiian 
language. This eliminates the large numbers of Chinese and 
Japanese in the islands. 

Porto Rico By an act of 1900 Congress provided for the government 

of Porto Rico. This provided for a Governor for a term of 
four years, to be appointed by the President, by and with the 
advice and consent of the Senate. The President was author- 
ized to appoint six other ofi&cers: a Secretary, Attorney 
General, Treasurer, Auditor, Commissioner of the Interior, and 
Commissioner of Education. Each of these presides over a 
Department. They with five other persons appointed by the 
President and confirmed by the Senate, constitute the upper 
house of the Porto Rican legislature, which is known as the 
Executive Council. Five members of this Council must be 
native Porto Ricans; so far the other six have been Americans. 
The lower house of the legislature, known as the house of 
delegates, consists of thirty-five members, elected by districts 
every two years. 

This Porto Rican legislature is given the power to determine 
the qualifications for the franchise. It has decided (1904) 
that all male persons twenty-one years of age may vote if 
they have resided in the island one year and in the district 
six months, and that no person could acquire the right to vote 
after July i, 1906, unless he could read or write either English 




Executive Building, Honolulu, Hawaii 




Federal Building, San Juan, Porto Rico 




Government Building, Manila, P. I. 




Paying $25,000,000 foe the Danish West Intjies, March, 1917 
The transaction occurred in tlie famous Diplomatic Room in the State Department. 



Htc -11.. av.^ 5i-v^tv>, ,.',.,.. i^ci...^ lA.vX ou.^ .^.a(v.v^Ii«t«:Pt. 51, tp/r, {-JL. .•.*«.»« 

of ll'iv- 'P^.M.-lJ ^^?V;.l- :<..4W^.i :<.-{'UuJ>? (o tf.tf i2('„'<V'*4 :?hftlv;;». ...q..^^* 
,.-..i.,...,..tf Iviuq p^o^'.vV'.i [;,, u.i Clef o*('t:\-».c^tc.4 ai:.K^oW^ ^r(,„tcf?.5, (0ir, 

Im, lUc^C.^MXVuNoM .-..IVtV.* .Mi-O IvK.CCM ..X i .W-.,. . . d't ic > OU ti:^ \l,,,tll 
> ^^^^^.,S .::.t<,... ...S\:.. .lll,^ ,:.,,,,, ^^iJ 



'.'s<.^..i:....|f^M. ,•t^c^. 



Ar> 



Receipt por the $25,000,000 Paid for the Danish West Indies 



TERRITORIES AND DEPENDENCIES 171 

or Spanish. There have been some conflicts between the 
House of Delegates and the Executive Council over the finan- 
cial budget, but these have been adjusted and now American 
citizenship has been conferred by Congress upon the Porto 
Ricans (1917). 

These Islands, acquired by the war with Spain in 1898, The 
had a mihtary government until 1901. The executive au- Pi"iippiiies 
thority in the islands was turned over on July 4, 1901, to 
Mr. W. H. Taft, the President of the Philippine Commission, 
which had been created by Congress. In October, 1907, 
the first representative assembly for the Philippines met. 
At the head of the Philippine government is a Governor 
appointed by the President. There are four Executive 
Departments, with a Secretary presiding over each: Interior, 
Commerce and Police, Finance and Justice, and Public 
Instruction. These Secretaries, with the Governor and four 
others appointed, constitute the Philippine Commission, 
which is also the upper house of the legislature. The lower 
house consists of eighty members elected from the civilized 
portions of the Islands. A voter must be twenty-three years 
of age, a tax-paying property owner, or able to read, write, or 
speak English. Under President Wilson's administration a 
majority of the Commission have become Filipinos. There 
has been some agitation for independence, — "the Philippines 
for the Filipinos," and there are opportunities for quarrels 
between the American Governor and the legislature, but the 
leading Filipinos see the importance, if not the necessity, of 
retaining American government until the Filipinos become 
better prepared for self-government. Then they may not 
desire independence, but may be given statehood instead. 
The Islands have a judiciary, consisting of lower courts and a 
supreime court, the latter consisting of seven members, Ameri- 
cans and Filipinos appointed by the President. 

American government in the Philippines has brought 
about a prosperity and advancement such as the Islands had 



172 THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 

never known before. Public works and good roads have 
been built, modern methods of hygiene and sanitation have 
been applied, and the industry and commerce of the Islands 
have been promoted. The good school system organized 
and directed by a large number of American teachers who 
went to the Philippines after the United States came into 
possession, has given the young Filipinos an opportunity to 
prepare themselves for leadership, and they have been quick 
to show their natural enterprise and intellectual capacity.^ 
'^^^ The District of Columbia, containing the city of Washing- 

Districtof , ^ r , XT • 1 o • 

Columbia ton, the scat of government for the United States, is a tract 
of seventy square miles. It is entirely under the control of 
Congress. That body has provided for the government of 
Washington City by a Commission of three members, and 
the city affords a good illustration or model of Commission 
government for cities, except that Washington is not at all 
self-governed. 

1 In addition to the possessions that have been named, the United 
States owns Guam in the far Pacific, obtained from Spain in 1898, 
which is governed as a naval station by a naval officer; and the Canal 
Zone, a strip in Panama ten miles wide, controlled by a Governor 
appointed by the President. The three Danish Islands in the West Indies 
were acquired by purchase ($25,000,000) in 1917. 



Forms of 
Government 
are but a 
Means to the 
End 



CHAPTER VIII 
FORMS AND FUNCTIONS OF GOVERNMENT 

"For forms of government let fools contest; 
Whate'er is best administered is best." — Pope. 

Forms of government are not of first importance. They 
are but the means to the end. It is the governing men and 
women that count. Men beheve in a democratic form of 
government because they beheve it to be the best form or 
means to attain the end in view, — a just government. They 
may beheve that such a form of government will secure 
the greatest good to the greatest number; not because 
they believe that democracy will always result in the most 
efficient or most orderly government but because they believe 
that men should learn to govern themselves and that in the 
long run self-government will result in the better civic develop- 
ment of all men. 

But it is obvious that in some countries, under certain 
conditions, a democratic form of government might not be 
workable or desirable. It all depends on the habits, condi- 
tions, and capacity of the people to be governed. So the science 
of government has been well called the "science of circum- 
stances." Forms, methods, institutions, constitutions, all 
these are formal not vital things in government. They have 
come and gone according to men's circumstances and experience 
in history. Experience is the great teacher, and government ^^^~ 

■^ . ^ ^ 1 government is 

IS an experimental science. Experiment has been the means the Goal in 
of learning whether this form or that, one institution or another, ^'^ Society 
is the best adapted to obtain good government or whether it 
is best calculated to promote the education of men for self- 
government. 

173 



174 



THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 



We have always heard that "knowledge is power." Knowl- 
edge is the basis of all progress in science and life, not only 
Knowledge and [^ ^]^g physical sciences but in the social sciences also, among 

Progress: The ^ -^ . t^, • 

Natural and which IS the science of government. Physics, astronomy, 
the Social botany, agriculture, are some of the natural or physical 

sciences. In these men learn by practice or by experiments 
in the laboratory. History, political economy, political 
science, sociology, — i.e. the study of society, — are some of the 
social sciences. In these fields, also, experience brings knowl- 
edge and knowledge brings progress. We ought, therefore, 
to try to know the business of government and how this 
business is conducted, to learn the failures that have occurred, 
the successes achieved, the best means that can be employed, 
and the reforms that are needed to enable the people to obtain 
better government. 



Scope and 
Functions of 
Government 



Functions of Government 

The scope of government has become more extensive in 
recent years, as the study of this subject will show. There are 
those who think that government should still further enlarge 
its functions, while others feel that it should more strictly 
confine itself to the old functions of merely preventing crime 
and protecting life and property. All recognize that govern- 
ment should do certain essential things: 

(i) It should maintain order and protect the life, hberty, 
and property of the people. 

(2) To this end it should prevent crime by restraining and 
punishing criminals. 

(3) It should erect courts to administer justice between 
man and man. If men will not keep their contracts or pay 
their debts or taxes voluntarily it may be necessary for gov- 
ernment to use coercion and restraint. 

(4) Many domestic relations are subject to governmental 
control, as the relation between husband and wife, parents 
and child, guardian and ward, employer and workman. 



FORMS AND FUNCTIONS OF GOVERNMENT 175 

(5) Government determines the political rights and duties 
of men and women by regulating such matters as suffrage, 
elections, and eligibihty to office, and the duties of officers. 

(6) The control of a nation's foreign relations in matters 
relating to treaties, peace and war, and defense against attack. 

(7) The provision of the necessary agencies of commercial 
intercourse, by coining money and providing a legal tender for 
the payment of debts; by determining upon reliable weights 
and measures; by keeping open highways for travel and 
transportation; by providing postal facihties and means of 
communication. 

All these essential functions of government will suggest 
other activities which government may choose to undertake 
if its controlling powers desire, such as the regulation of 
trade and industry; the fostering of public improvements, 
roads, bridges, canals, harbors; promoting education in ele- 
mentary and secondary schools and in colleges and universities; 
safeguarding the public health by maintaining sewer systems 
and water systems and systems of inspection for buildings and 
mines and factories. All these things are done, some more 
and some less, some better and some worse, under all forms of 
government. 

We ought, also, to know the forms, processes, and insti- 
tutions by which men have sought to govern themselves and Government 
others. Certain forms of government are so frequently 
referred to that it becomes necessary to have them defined. 

Forms of Government 

Thereare three familiar forms of government: i. Monarchy. 
2. Aristocracy. 3. Democracy.^ 

A monarchy is a government by a single person. If the 
monarch's power is limited by law or by a constitution, it is 
called a Hmited, or constitutional, monarchy, like that of Great Moaarchy 

^ This classification goes back to Aristotle. Politics, Book III, 



Definition of 
Terms in 



176 



THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 



Britain; if it is not so limited, it is called an unlimited, or 
absolute, monarchy. This is a despotism such as Russia had. 
There may be such a thing as a "benevolent despotism" — 
the wise, good rule of an absolute monarch. But if such a 
monarch recognizes no law or constitution in restraint of his 
power, he is a despot. If he governs wickedly and oppressively 
he is a tyrant; if he governs wisely and well, he is a "benevo- 
lent despot," but a despot just the same. The word despot 
generally has a bad significance, because, as a r<ule, an unre- 
strained despot governs badly. 

Aristocracy is a government by the few; literally speaking, 
by the superior or best citizens of the state. ^ If we were to 
look only to the quality of the government and not to the char- 
acter and development of the people to be governed, and if we 
could make sure of finding some fair, safe way of choosing 
the most competent persons to govern; and if we were certain 
that they would govern in the interest of all and not chiefly 
in the interest of a class, there would not be much objection 
to an aristocracy. It should be borne in mind that the motive 
of those who govern is an important factor in any government. 
If the motive or desire of those in power is to promote the 
welfare of the people and not merely to look out for their own 
interests, good government is more likely to follow. In 
America we are inclined to think government by all the people 
and not by any class will be more likely to bring "the greatest 
good to the greatest number." 

A democracy is the form of government by which the power 
of the State is exercised by the majority of the people, or by 
the masses. 

"Since the development of modern democracy the form 
of government is often radically different from its spirit. 
Great Britain by theory is an absolute monarchy but is in fact 
a representative democracy, and Mexico, which is by theory 
a democracy, is in fact a close aristocracy. This divergence 
1 Aristoi is the Greek word for the best. 



FORMS AND FUNCTIONS OF GOVERNMENT 177 

between theory and fact . . . makes it difficult to devise 
a satisfactory classification." ^ 

Kinds of Democracy 

A pure or absolute democracy is a government by the direct Degrees of 
action of the people, i.e., one in which the people meet together emocracy 
to make laws and appoint agents to enforce them. A pure 
Democracy is not possible except over a very small area, or 
in small city-states, like those of ancient Greece, where all 
the freemen, or citizens, met together to make the laws or to 
determine on war and peace and public policies. 

About nine tenths of the people in these Greek cities were 
slaves, who did not have the privilege of taking any part in 
affairs of government. So these city-states were not very 
democratic in our modern sense. Aristotle thought of the 
rule of the people as mobocracy, i.e., the rule of the mob. 
He supposed the masses who were ignorant and depraved in 
his day could only produce government of the lawless mob, 
moved by passion, excitement, and violence. He wished a 
government by established law in the interest of the com- 
mon good. He used the term polity for our idea of orderly 
democracy. 

Direct legislation by the people, or the enactment of laws 
by the initiative and referendum, is an approach toward pure 
democracy, since it reduces the power and importance of the 
representatives of the people and gives more power to the 
people themselves. (See p. 36.) 

A representative democracy or a republic is the form of The RepubUc 
government under which the people rule through their repre- 
sentatives. A republic may be more or less democratic. 
Some so-called republics of the past have been aristocratic 
republics, like those of ancient Greece, where an educated 
leisure class exercised power. Some have been military 
republics, where the power of the State was organized on a 
' Dealey, The Development of the State, p. 120. 



178 



THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 



military plan for quick united action for conquest or defense. 
Some have been oligarchic republics, like Venice, where a hand- 
ful of nobles exercised power. 

The Oligarchy An oligarchy is a government by the few. It may be by a 
military class, or by a landed, hereditary aristocracy, or by 
a plutocracy, which is a government by the rich. A plutocracy 
is a vicious and corrupting kind of government. It is likely 
to exist under some other name, but under it a few men of 
wealth corrupt the voters, buy the laws, control the adminis- 
trators and judges, and force the people into subjection. 

Militarism Militarism is a system under which government is controlled 

by a military class. Prominence is given to military training 
and military distinctions, and the military classes arrogate to 
themselves the powers, honors, and rewards of the State. 
Militarism cultivates pride of rank and leads the military 
to stand by the interest of their class at the expense of common 
justice and the public welfare. It leads to the assertion of 
arbitrary and domineering power over the masses, and entirely 
subordinates the civil interests of man to the military interest. 
Militarism involves large standing armies, heavy military 
expenses, and burdensome taxes upon the people. It exalts 
authority and disregards liberty. The soldier despises the 
citizen, and the rulers in a military State generally demand 
of their subjects flattering obeisance, subserviency, and 
servility. 

The military state may be good for preserving order, for 
training men for obedience and united action, and for pro- 
viding efficient and orderly administration. But to a demo- 
cratic people militarism is especially distasteful. It is absolute, 
arbitrary, and autocratic. It violates all equality of rights, 
since a great social gulf is fixed between the private soldier, 
or citizen, and the army officer. All honors go to the military, 
— uniforms and shoulder straps, swords and sabers, being 
their trappings and symbols. In times of war and great public 
danger a free people may have to submit to the suppression 



FORMS AND FUNCTIONS OF GOVERNMENT 179 



Military 
Training in 
a Democracy 



of civil law and civil liberty by the military arm for the sake 
of the public defense, according to the maxim, "The safety of 
the pubhc is the highest law;" but they do this only from 
dire necessity. Military rule over a free people in time of 
peace is always objectionable. 

A nation may be well prepared for defense by having good 
soldiers without being governed by a mihtary spirit or a mili- 
tary class. Switzerland is a good example of a democratic 
country where all the young men receive military training, 
and, in consequence, the army of Switzerland is very effective 
for so small a country. It is a democratic army in which 
every officer has first served as a private. All have been with- 
drawn from their usual occupations for a series of years and 
drilled in camp and march and trenches and other military 
practices. In a democracy every able-bodied citizen should 
be ready to be a soldier. The young men might be trained 
for social service as well as for military service, like the 
Boy Scouts. A good system of training for a citizen soldiery 
need do nothing to promote the military class or to decrease 
our loyalty to democratic government. Such training might 
rest on a sense of universal service to the country. 

Modern governments do not now, as a rule, raise armies for 
war by a system of volunteering but by a system of selec- 
tion. All able-bodied citizens, in time of war, are liable 
to be "called to the colors" for the defense of their country. 
Exemptions are allowed for good reasons, some being left 
in the factories and on the farms while others are called to 
bear arms. When the nation is organized for war, all pa- 
triotic citizens are ready to serve where their country needs 
them. 

The essential element in a modern republic is that its powers Essential 

, . Featvires of 

should be derived, either directly or indirectly, from the great a RepubUc 
body of the people, and not from a small proportion or favored 
class of people. It is not essential to a republic that all its 
officers should be elective or hold office for short terms. Their 



i8o 



THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 



A Centralized 
us. a 

Decentralized 
Republic : 
France and the 
United States 



terms may be for a limited period or during good behavior, 
as the law may determine. The republican form of govern- 
ment, where it exists, is generally guaranteed by a constitu- 
tion as in the United States, though it may really exist 
under monarchical forms, as in England. In the latter case 
the government is essentially republican, though nominally 
monarchical. 

A republic may be centralized, or consolidated, or it may be 
decentralized, or federal. 

A centralized or consolidated republic is a single nation, 
republican in form. It may be made up of smaller com- 
munities but these are mere subdivisions of the nation. In 
the centralized republic, like France, all the people are con- 
sidered in one mass to be governed in all their concerns from 
a common center. In France there are eighty-six departments 
for local government. The head, or Prefect, of each depart- 
ment is appointed and removed by the President of the 
republic, or the Minister of the Interior. Thus, the Prefect 
is the agent of the general government, and he directs the 
administration of local affairs. He appoints subordinate 
ofiScers, supervises the enforcement of the law, maintains con- 
trol over all administrative officials. Each department has 
a council, but the council has little power except to see to 
highways, canals, schools, etc. The council cannot control 
the Prefect, but that officer may at times annul the acts of the 
council; and the President of France may dissolve the council 
or veto its acts. Thus, we see, the departments have no in- 
dependent governmental powers. They are quite unlike our 
States in this respect. 

Thus, as we see in France, when the local divisions and the 
powers which they exercise are subject to change at any time 
by the central government, and when all real power is vested 
in the central government to be used or delegated as it will, 
then we have a centralized government. 

The American republic, as it was originally made and as 



FORMS AND FUNCTIONS OF GOVERNMENT l8l 

it has for the most part remained, is not centralized or con- 
solidated in this way; but it was made up of political communi- 
ties, called States, which were republics, each within itself, 
and which had complete working governments before the 
United States came into existence. The Union did not make The Federal 

Union 

the States for its convenience, but the States made the Union 
for their benefit and common defense. They did this hy feder- 
ating and we shall now turn to the study of the American 
Union or Federal Republic formed by this uniting of the States. 

TOPICS AND QUERIES 

1. What are the weaknesses in a democracy? Why is a monarchy, 

or a military government, more efficient in administration? 

2. Why is a local government whose officers are elective more lax 

and neglectful in law enforcement than the national government 
whose judges and prosecuting attorneys are appointive? How 
can this be remedied? 

3. What are the advantages and disadvantages of centralized govern- 

ment over local decentralized government? How did the United 
States come to have the latter kind? 

Read Bryce, American Commonwealth, Vol. II, Chapter on 
"Merits of the Federal System," pp. 350-358. 

4. Make a list of the advantages of military training and the evils of 

military control. Explain the historic opposition in America to 
large standing armies. 

REFERENCES 

Burgess, J. W. Political Science and Comparative Constitutional Law, 

Vol. II, pp. 1-16 (?). 
Dealey, James Q. The Development of the State, pp. 1 19-12 7. 
Hindsdale, B. A. The American Government, pp. 14-18. 
Holt, Lucius H. An Introduction to the Study of Government, pp. 3-10. 

Purposes of government and classification of forms. 
Kaye, P. L. Readings in Civil Government. 
Leacock, Stephen. Elements of Political Science. 
Stickney, Albert. A True Republic, Chap. II, pp. 16-25. 
Stickney, Albert. Democratic Government, pp. 11-21. 
Willoughby, W. W. Rights and Duties of American Citizenship, 

Chap. VI, pp. 67-88. 
Woodburn, James A. The American RepjMic and its Government, 

Chap. II, pp. 47-60. 



The 

Constitution of 
a Country Is 
Written or 
Unwritten 



CHAPTER IX 
THE CONSTITUTION: WRITTEN AND UNWRITTEN 

The constitution of a state or nation is its fundamental 
organic law which determines its form of government and the 
underlying rules and principles according to which its govern- 
ment shall be conducted. An organic law is one which lays 
down the organs of government and sets forth their functions. 
It may be written or unwritten. If the principles, rules, and 
laws determining the organic form of the state are embodied 
in a single written document, the government is one of a 
written constitution. But if the rules and principles for the 
guidance of a government are made up of statutes, decisions, 
and precedents that have been passed and rendered from time 
to time, and if the fundamental law for the guidance of the 
state is found in the usages and customs based on these 
precedents, practices, and laws of the past, the nation is then 
said to have an unwritten constitution. 

Differences between Written and Unwritten 
Constitutions 

The United States has a written Constitution, — a document 
of definite length, which, if printed in a pamphlet, may be 
read through in twenty minutes. The Declaration of Inde- 
pendence is not a part of the United States Constitution, 
though it contains principles which may influence or control 
the people in the conduct of their government. Great Britain 
has an unwritten constitution, — a set of customs, usages, 
understandings, proceedings and long-standing laws that it 
has been customary to go by. An important distinction is 

182 



THE CONSTITUTION: WRITTEN AND UNWRITTEN 183 



that in a country with an unwritten constitution, the con- 
stitution can be changed by the ordinary legislature, while 
in a country with a written constitution the constitution is 
placed above and out of the reach of the legislature, being 
subject to change only by the authority (higher than the legis- 
lature) which created the constitution. This higher power is 
generally the people acting through a convention and by a 
popular vote. 

An unwritten constitution is called flexible, — it may be bent, 
turned, expanded, or changed more easily, at the will of the 
supreme legislature. 

A written constitution is called inflexible, or rigid. It cannot 
be so easily turned or changed. It resists bending at the efforts 
of a temporary majority in the legislature, and its provisions 
cannot be overridden or disregarded. Its terms are fixed 
and it can be changed only by the same slow and difficult 
process by which the constitution was made or according to 
its own provision for amendments. 

It should be understood that a nation with an unwritten 
constitution is just as much under constitutional government 
as one with a written constitution; nor is it to be thought 
that such a government is changing at every whip-stitch or 
at every popular caprice. England has been the home and 
source of constitutional government for centuries and has 
given free representative government to many parts of the 
world, and her government has been essentially the same in 
all these years. It has changed from age to age, just as any 
government must do. It has become more democratic in 
modern times, just as our government has. But England has 
constantly struggled for and preserved the essential features 
of constitutional government, constitutional liberty, and 
constitutional law. An unwritten constitution is easy to 
change only in the sense that a nation's habits are easy to 
change. That is sometimes very hard. While growing 
more republican in spirit and substance, England has held 



An Unwritten 
Constitution 
maybe 
Conservative 



1 84 



THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 



Our Rights are 
not Mere 
"Parchment 
Rights " 
They are older 
than our 
Constitutions 



with habitual tenacity to kingship and lordships for more than 
a thousand years. Indeed a country under an unwritten 
constitution may be more conservative than one under a 
written constitution. It is true that in a government under 
an unwritten constitution the legislature is absolute; it may 
do what it will, even to changing the constitution itself. 
But it feels bound to legislate and conduct the government on 
principles that are well known and of record, according to 
laws that are written and old, and according to habits that 
are deep-rooted and revered. These are sound safeguards 
against usurpation, despotism, and tyranny, and the vio- 
lation of the rights of person and of property; and therefore, 
the government of such a legislature, while absolute in law, is 
constitutional in practice. 

We ought not to think that our rights and liberties are 
determined for us, or secured to us, by words in a parchment. 
The rights of the people are guaranteed not by the words of 
a written constitution but rather by what has been called the 
spirit of the constitution and its unwritten law. These include 
the principles and forces by which the people are moved and 
controlled, by which the life of the State is governed, — custom, 
usage, precedent, our political habits, public expectation, the 
spirit and love of American liberty, on which the nation was 
founded, and by which it is guided. All these are the forces 
to be relied upon to restrain the power of legislatures in State 
or nation. The rights of the people to peace and order, to 
life, liberty, property, and the pursuit of happiness, existed 
many years before the Constitution was created. These 
rights were guaranteed by forces older and above the Constitu- 
tion. The Constitution is not the fountain from which they 
flow. That document is the consequence, not the cause, of 
these rights. It grants no rights to the people, but it is merely 
the creature of their power, the instrument to secure and 
defend these rights. Our written constitutions in America 
have a noble purpose in view, but the sacred thing about them 



THE CONSTITUTION: WRITTEN AND UNWRITTEN 185 

is the principles and purposes for which they are ordained 
and estabhshed. It is these that deserve our loyalty and 
reverence, — • namely, justice, peace, equity, the public welfare, 
the blessings of liberty, and equal rights under the law. If 
any constitution prevents or hinders these things or unduly 
delays them, it is the right and duty of the people to change 
it or to overthrow it entirely. Therefore every written con- 
stitution must provide for its own amendment, and must be 
subject to a liberal interpretation that will enable it to grow 
and expand. 

Any constitution that will not bend must break. It must 
change and expand with the expansion and growth of the 
country for which it was made. It must accommodate itself 
to changed conditions or it will be laid aside. If a constitution "^^^ Unwritten 

... . . . . . . Constitution 

is too rigid, its provisions will be violated or it will be treated in America 
with such loose construction as to be equivalent to evasion. 
This is not a law-abiding way to act and is likely to beget a 
disregard for constitutions and laws among the people. But 
a constitution should contain not statutory matter with a 
whole lot of specific prohibitions which time may prove to be 
unwise, but broad fundamental principles of government, 
stated in general terms. It could, therefore, find room to 
expand, to adapt itself to social changes for the sake of social 
justice, not only by the written process of amendment but by 
interpretation and usage (see p. 191). Our Constitution has 
expanded in exactly this way and presents certain unwritten 
features fixed by usage and not by written law. The student 
should note these as he studies the American Government and 
the party forces which operate it. 

We summarize here a few of these aspects of the unwritten 
constitution in America, most of which are indicated or dis- 
cussed in their proper connection in other parts of the book. 

(i) A Presidential Elector must vote for the candidates 
of his party. 

(2) A President may not be elected for three terms. 



1 86 THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 

(3) A Congressman must reside in the district from which 
he is chosen. 

(4) The President's cabinet appointments are confirmed by 
the senate without question. 

(5) A President may remove his appointees without the 
consent of the senate. 

The committee system of conducting business in Congress 
and the whole party system with its rules and committees 
and conventions for the control and conduct of parties are the 
outgrowth of custom or unwritten law. None of these things 
are provided for by any written law but they are as well estab- 
lished as if they were. 

Benefits of the Written Constitution 

To safeguard certain rights and interests and to prevent 
temporary passing legislatures from interfering with them 
under popular passion and excitement, the people of the United 
States have established their written constitutions. The 
people in America believe in these safeguards. They do not 
like sudden or frequent changes in government and law, and 
they have thought it safer to put their fundamental rights, 
to obtain which they struggled for so many years against their 
royal governments, beyond the reach of their legislatures. 
They wished to establish a sphere of individual freedom on 
which no governmental authority was to be allowed to en- 
croach. The people have therefore recited, or inserted, these 
rights under the form of a "Bill of Rights," in their consti- 
tutions, State and national. These rights are sacred and the 
people have thus solemnly agreed and announced that they 
shall not be touched, abridged, or denied, not even by the 
people themselves. This "Bill of Rights" is old, coming to 
BUI of Rights ^Y^Q colonies from the Enghsh constitution. In the early days 
it was the largest and most important part of the State con- 
stitutions and it was put into these constitutions before it 
became a part of the United States Constitution. 



THE CONSTITUTION: WRITTEN AND UNWRITTEN 187 

This "Bill of Rights" provides for freedom of religion, 
freedom of assembly, freedom of speech and of the press, and 
of petition; for the right of trial by jury; that no person 
shall be held to answer for a capital crime except by indict- P«'o'^sions of 

, . ., the Bill of 

ment of a grand jury; that the accused shall have the privilege Rights 
of the writ of habeas corpus and a right to a speedy and public 
trial; cruel and unusual punishments, general search warrants 
and imprisonment for debt, are prohibited, as also are the grant- 
ing of titles of nobility, the passing of ex post facto laws and 
bills of attainder, and the taking of private property except 
for public purposes and by due process of law. These "Bills 
of Rights" usually assert the principles of American popular 
government, — that all people should have equal rights, that 
governments originate with the people and all power is in- 
herent in the people, and that the people have at all times 
the right to change or reform their government as they please. 

Another way by which the Constitution has grown and 
the national power has been increased has been by implied 
powers. In this again we see illustrated how the Constitution 
is not so much what was originally written as it is a matter 
of usage, decisions, and precedents. Congress may exercise i™pWed 
only the powers conferred upon it. But since it may employ 
any means necessary to carry out these powers, Congress has 
used a wide discretion and enlarged its own powers by the 
means which it has chosen to adopt in order to do the things 
which the Constitution permits it to do. It has adopted the 
doctrine that a power which is granted implies other powers 
that may be "necessary and proper" for carrying out a power 
that is granted; that a new power not mentioned in the Con- 
stitution as belonging to Congress may be derived or inferred 
(implied) from a power that is named. This is clear in some 
cases but not so clear in others. 

Congress has power to "coin money." This is expressed 
in the Constitution and is, therefore, called an "express 
power." It would be difiScult, if not impossible, to coin money 



THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 



Illustrations of 

Implied 

Powers 



Hamilton for 
Broad Construc- 
tion 



Jefferson on 
Implied Powers 
and Broad 
Construction 



without establishing a mint. It is therefore asserted that the 
power "to coin money" implies or intends to confer on Con- 
gress the power to establish a mint. This power to establish 
a mint is clearly implied. No one has ever been so strict 
in construing the Constitution as to deny that, for how could 
a government coin money without having a mint? That was 
clearly necessary. Congress is also given (expressly) the 
power to "borrow money." Does this imply the power to 
establish a bank? It is not so clear. Money may be borrowed 
without a bank, but a bank is a very "proper" if not "neces- 
sary" means of borrowing money, especially to governments. 
Congress held the power was implied and established the 
First United States Bank, thus adopting Hamilton's principle 
of broad construction and implied powers. Jefferson held 
that a power, before it could be held to be implied, must be 
shown to be "necessary," without which the express power 
would be nugatory. The Constitution gives to Congress the 
power "to make all laws which shall be necessary and proper" 
for carrying into execution the powers granted. 

Jefferson contended that the necessity ought to be proved. 
"To take a single step," said he, "beyond the boundaries 
specifically drawn around the powers of Congress is to take 
possession of a boundless field of power," and Jefferson held 
that these words, "necessary and proper," placed at the end 
of a list of limited powers, ought not to be so construed as to 
give unlimited powers. 

Our system of government during its history has held a 
pretty even balance between the views of Hamilton and Jeffer- 
son. The national Government has not been allowed to assume 
unlimited powers, but implied powers and liberal construction 
have prevailed to give Congress the powers essential to meet 
emergencies and to provide for our national development and 
preservation. The people have virtually accepted Chief 
Justice Marshall's construction of the Constitution, who 
recognized both limited powers and broad construction. 



THE CONSTITUTION: WRITTEN AND UNWRITTEN 189 

"This government is acknowledged by all to be one of enumerated 
powers. The principle that it can exercise only the powers granted 
to it is now universally admitted. But the question respecting 
the extent of the powers actually granted is perpetually arising and 
will. probably continue to arise as long as our system shall exist. . . . 
The powers of the Government are limited and its powers are not to 
be transcended. But the sound construction of the Constitution 
must allow to the national legislature that discretion with respect 
to the means by which the powers it confers are to be carried into 
execution, which will enable that body to perform the high duties 
assigned to it in a manner most beneficial to the people. Let the end 
be legitimate, let it be within the scope of the Constitution, and 
all means which are appropriate, which are plainly adapted to that 
end, and which are not prohibited but are consistent with the letter 
and spirit of the Constitution, are constitutional." ^ 

Distribution of Powers to State and Nation 
It should be remembered that the general restrictions im- ^^°^'*', 

° _ . . Restrictions of 

posed upon government by the Constitution are restrictions theConsti- 
upon the government of the United States, not restrictions *""°° ^^ 

'^ ° _ . restrain the 

upon the States, unless the States are especially mentioned, united states. 

For example, "No bill of attainder or ex post facto law shall not the states 

be passed." ^ This prohibits the United States but not any 

State from passing such laws. To prohibit the States from 

passing such measures it was necessary that the Constitution 

should say in addition, as was done in the next section, "No 

State shall pass a bill of attainder or ex post facto law." Unless 

the States are specifically mentioned, the limitations imposed 

by the United States Constitution are imposed on the national 

Government only, not on the States. So long as the States 

do not infringe upon expressed provisions of the Constitution 

especially addressed to them, or upon those implied in the 

whole scope of that instrument and in the grants of power to 

1 Marshall in the case of McCulloch vs. Maryland, 1819. 
'^ Constitution, Art. I, Sec. 9. 



1 90 



THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 



Classification 
of Powers 



The Nation has 
Inherent 
Powers, those 
essential to 
National Life 



the General Government, they may regulate their own domestic 
affairs in their own way. ^ 

Thus we find the Constitution distributing the powers of 
government between State and nation. These powers are 
classified as follows:- 

1. Powers vested in the national Government alone. 

2. Powers vested in the State governments alone. 

3. Concurrent powers, or those that may be exercised by 

either State or national Government. 

4. Powers forbidden to the national Government. 

5. Powers forbidden to the States. 

6. Powers forbidden to both governments. 

While the theory of our Constitution is that all unrecited 
governmental powers rest where they rested before the adoption 
of the Constitution, — ■ that is, with the States, — ■ yet in 
practice it has not been so. The theory is that the powers of 
the States are original and inherent, those of the national 
Government are delegated, — that is, the latter are definite 
and restricted, enumerated and defined by the Constitution, 
while the State powers are "general and residuary," residing 
as of right where they originally belonged. But as a matter 
of fact the national Government is more than a government 
of delegated powers. It has come to exercise "original" and 
"inherent" powers, — powers that have come to it from the 
nature of government, from necessity and usage, that is from 
the law of the unwritten constitution. They have been called 
resulting powers; they come from the very character of the 
national Government itself and from the functions it has to 
perform, — from the whole scope, nature, and purpose of the 
Constitution. 



1 Compare this with the passages in Chapter VI on the States and 
their Government, pp. 146-150. 

2 Let the student from a study of the Constitution name some 
powers belonging to each class. 



THE CONSTITUTION: WRITTEN AND UNWRITTEN 1 91 
To illustrate, the national Government is given the power Growth by 

, . . , . 1 Resulting 

to make treaties. Resulting from this is the power to provide Powers 
for the transfer or purchase of territory. This is not implied 
in treaty-making, it is not a means of making a treaty; but it 
results from the custom and usage in treaty-making. De- 
fining boundaries and readjusting territory has always been a 
subject of treaties, and all customary treaty-making subjects, 
or war-making subjects, or international subjects, come 
within the scope of the national powers. The nation may, 
of course, preserve its own life and, as a result, the national 
Government may exercise every power essential to the Hfe 
and processes of a nation. It must be allowed to perform 
every national governmental function which any national 
sovereign government can perform, which is not denied to it 
by the Constitution. The use of these natural inherent powers 
is usually criticized, from time to time, as unconstitutional, 
but the attempt to prevent their use has proved futile. And 
the extent to which they have been used has so far substituted 
an unwritten for a written constitution in America; or it may 
be said to have marked the advance of our unwritten con- 
stitution by interpretation and usage. 

Growth op the Constitution 

The Constitution has changed and grown in three ways: 
I. By amendments, 2. By construction. 3. By usage. The 
Constitution provides for its own amendment in two ways: 
(i) Congress may by a two-thirds vote of each house propose 
an amendment. If this be ratified by the legislatures (or Amendments 
by conventions, as Congress may decide) in three fourths ^^the 
of the States it becomes a part of the Constitution. Seventeen Process 
amendments have been obtained in this way. The first ten, 
however, were submitted at the very first session of Congress 
in answer to the demands of many of the States expressed 
upon ratifying the Constitution, and these may almost be 
said to be a part of the original instrument. They were 



192 THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 

adopted to safeguard the rights of the States and the hberties 
of their citizens against encroachments or abuses by the central 
government. The Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth 
Amendments are known as the "war amendments." They 
were adopted during civil war and reconstruction, while the 
Southern States were out of their normal relation to the Union. 
The Eleventh and Twelfth Amendments are explained else- 
where (see pp. 327 and 237). (2) The other process of amend- 
ment provides that Congress is bound to call a convention of 
all the States "for proposing of amendments" if two thirds 
of the States (through legislatures or conventions) request 
that this be done. Any amendments proposed by this national 
convention would have to be ratified by three fourths of the 
States, as in the other way. No amendments have ever been 
obtained by this process. 

We have never had a second convention like that which 
made the Constitution in 1787. If one should be called by 
Congress on the demand of two thirds of the States (Congress 
would have no option if the States requested it) it might 
proceed not merely to propose amendments but to make an 
entirely new constitution, — as the Convention of 1787 did, 
which was called to propose amendments to the Articles of 
Confederation. In recent years some of the more radical 
people who have been dissatisfied with the United States 
Constitution and the slow, hard method of amending it, 
have thought of working through the States for the calling 
of a national Constitutional Convention, in order that an 
entirely new and more democratic constitution maybe obtained. 

Two new amendments have been added to the Constitution 
in recent years. The Sixteenth Amendment authorizes Con- 
gress to impose an income tax without apportioning it among 
the States according to population. ^ This amendment was 

1 The income tax decision of the Supreme Court in 1895 held the 
income tax to be a direct tax, and the Constitution requires that such 
taxes, like representatives, must be apportioned among the States 



Sidg-secfln^ Csngms of i\t Wmitls States ai America; 

Begun' fttilllielS at the City of Washington on Monday, the fourth day of December. 
one thousand nine hundred and eleven. 



JOINT RESOLUTIOISr 



Proposing an amendment to the Constitution providing that Senators shall be 
elected by the people of the several States. 



Resolved hy the Senate and House of JRepre^entatives of the United iSlates 
of America in Congress assembled fttvo-thirds of each House concuriiny 
iherein), That in lieu of the first paragraph of section three of Article I of the 
Constitution of the United States, and in lieu of so much of paragraph two of 
the same section as relates to the filling of vacancies, liio folloAviug be proposed 
as an amendment to the Constitution, which shall be valid to all intents and 
purposes as part of the Constitution when ratified hy the legislatures of 
ihree-fourths of the States : 

" The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from 
vach State, elected by the people thereof, for six years ; and each Senator shall 
have one vote. The electors in each State shall have the qualifications 
requisite for electors of the most numerous brancli of the State legislatures. 

" When vacancies happen in the representation of any State in the Senate, 
the executive authority of such State shall issue writs of election to fill such 
vacancies: Provided, That the legislature of any State may empower the 
executive thereof to make temporary appointments mitil the people fill the 
\'acancies by election as the legislature may direct. 

"This amendment shall not be so construed as to affect the election or 
term of any Senator chosen before it becomes valid as part of the Constitution. ' ' 

Sj)eakcr of the House of Eepre-^piiti/Ji'-e.-.. 

^ Vice president of the United States and 

President of tli ■ Foif.itc. 




Facsimile of the 17TH Amendment to the Constitution of the United St.a.tes 



THE CONSTITUTION: WRITTEN AND UNWRITTEN 193 

submitted to the States in 1909, but did not receive a sufificient 
number of ratifications until 19 13. It was declared a part 
of the Constitution by Secretary of State Knox, February 25 
of that year. The Seventeenth Amendment, providing for 
popular election of senators, was submitted by Congress to 
the States in 191 2 and was declared adopted by Secretary 
Bryan May 31, 1913. Agitations for the popular election of 
senators had been kept up for over twenty years, and for the 
income tax amendment ever since the adverse decision, but 
the friends of these policies, though public sentiment was favor- 
able, found it slow and difficult work to get the amendments 
adopted. 

Many people have felt that the process of amendment is so 
slow and difficult that the amending process should be amended. 
A "gateway amendment" has been proposed for the purpose ^ "Gateway 

. Amendment " 

of making all future amendments easier. The gateway 
amendment" proposes that the amending process shall be so 
changed as to provide that a mere majority of Congress may 
submit amendments to the States. These shall be voted on 
by the people of the States and if a majority of the States to- 
gether with a majority of those voting in all the States declare 
for the amendment, then it shall be declared to be a part of 
the Constitution. If a majority of Congress refuses to take the 
initiative in proposing an amendment, the favorable action of 
ten States by their legislatures may require its submission. 
Thus one house of Congress could not block an amendment and 
a majority of the States and people could more easily obtain 
one. It has been held that a State may reconsider and recall 
its rejection of an amendment but it may not rescind its 
ratification of one. That is, a State may undo unfavorable 
action but it may not undo favorable action. 

according to population. Constitution, Art. I, Sec. 2. The income tax 
of 1894 exempted incomes above $4000, and this required a proportion- 
ately larger number of people to pay in States like New York, Massa- 
chusetts, and Connecticut than in Western States like Iowa or Arkansas. 



194 



THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 



Growth of the 
Constitution 
by Construction ; 
The Great 
Function of the 
Supreme Court 



Marshall's 
Principles of 
Construction 



The Constitution has grown much more by constructing 
and interpretation than by amendment. In this is shown the 
great function and influence of the Supreme Court in the 
growth of the Constitution and the changes to be noticed in 
our Government. By hberal or broad construction the Con- 
stitution has been greatly developed and the powers of Con- 
gress, of the President, and of the central government have 
been enlarged far beyond the thought or intention of the most 
of the men who made the Constitution. Since the Constitu- 
tion is largely what the Supreme Court says it is, the sayings 
and decisions of that court are looked to as the law of the 
Constitution by which the powers of government are extended 
or limited. For the most part, during a hundred and twenty- 
five years of our history, the national powers have been 
extended and the State powers limited. 

The construction of the Constitution by Chief Justice 
Marshall was one of the most influential agencies in promoting 
change and development in the Constitution. He laid down 
two rules, or canons, of construction: i. Every power claimed 
for the national Government must be shown to have been 
granted. The presumption was not in favor of such a power; 
the burden of proof rested with the one who asserted it. He 
must point out the language of the Constitution by which it 
was expressly granted or implied. 2. When it was shown that 
the purpose or end of the power claimed for the national Gov- 
ernment had been authorized by the Constitution, then any 
reasonable means which Congress saw fit to use to carry out 
that purpose or to reach the end in view, might be employed. 
The court would be strict in determining the existence of a 
power, but liberal in carrying out the power if found to exist. 
If the people have conferred the power in the Constitution, 
Congress is unlimited as to the means which may be taken to 
realize the end that may rightfully be claimed. 



THE CONSTITUTION: WRITTEN AND UNWRITTEN 195 

TOPICS AND QUERIES 

1. What are the advantages of an unwritten over a written constitution? 

2. Show how the desire to restrain the exercise of power led to the 

written constitution in America. Is there evidence to indicate 
that the framers of our Constitution looked upon government 
as an evil thing? 

3. Are the liberties of the people better safeguarded under one kind 

of constitution than the other? Why? 

4. Show how implied powers became necessary. 

5. Why are certain acts twice forbidden in the Constitution? 

6. What motives prompted the difference between Hamilton and 

Jefferson in their construction of the Constitution? What was 
the attitude of each of these leaders toward government in 
general? 

REFERENCES 

Beard, C. A. American Government and Politics, Chap. IV, pp. 60-63, 
on the "Evolution of the Constitution"; pp. 73-75, on the "Judicial 
Expansion of the Constitution." 

Beard, C. A. Readings in American Government and Politics, pp. 62-69, 
"Expansion of the Constitution." 

Bryce, James. The American Commonwealth, Vol. I, pp. 30-31; 
Chap. IV, pp. 32-37. Chap. XXVII, pp. 312-323. Chap. XXXI, 
pp. 360-364. On the "Nature of the Federal Government" and 
the "Growth and Development of the Constitution," written 
and unwritten. 

Corwin, Edward S. The Doctrine of Judicial Review (1914). 

Guitteau, William B. Government and Politics in the United States. 
Chap. XX on the " Development of the Constitution," Chap. XXI, 
on " The Relations of Federal and State Governments," pp. 226; 246. 

Haines, Charles G. The American Doctrine of Judicial Supremacy, 
Chap. I, pp. 1-17, "Unwritten Constitution, — Legislative 
Supremacy," "Written Constitutions, — Judicial Supremacy." 

Holt, Lucius H. An Introduction to the Study of Government, pp. 20, 30, 
"The Constitution, Written and Unwritten." 

Lowell, A. Lawrence. Government of England, pp. 1-15. On the 
"Nature of the Unwritten Constitution." 

Moran, T. F. The Theory and Practice of the English Government. 

Wilson, Woodrow. Constitutional Government in the United States. 

Woodburn, James A. The American Republic and its Government, 
pp. 75-89, on the " Federal Constitution and the Distribution of 
Powers"; pp. 90-93, 122, 274, 391, on "Governmental Usage and 
the Unwritten Constitution." 



CHAPTER X 



The American 
Union 



The 
Confederation 



THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC: THE RELATION OF 
THE STATES TO THE NATION 

A Federal republic ^ is one that is formed by a union of 
republics. Its powers are decentralized, or divided among 
local governments, also republican in form, which have a cer- 
tain amount of independence and power of their own. Our 
States were republics before they formed the Union. 

Our States had been parts of the British colonial empire, 
but in 1776 they declared their independence. They acted 
in unison to do this, but after obtaining its independence 
each State was free to govern itself in its own way. 

The States, while carrying on together their war for inde- 
pendence, first formed a Confederation, or League. This is 
a form of government in which a number of political bodies 
(they might be monarchies or republics) are united together 
for certain purposes, especially for purposes of common de- 
fense and to take care of common interests. The members of 
the Confederation, or League, are not individual men, but 
States, or nations, and it deals with and acts upon States, 
not upon individual citizens. If the States separate from one 
another the Confederation disappears. 

^ A Federal republic may be more or less centralized. It depends upon the 
extent and character of the powers exercised by the central government. 
Our republic is now more centralized than it was in the beginning. France, 
now highly centralized, was, centuries ago, a group of almost independent 
monarchies, or dukedoms, — Burgundy, Brittany, Aquitaine, etc., each 
for itself making war, coining money, erecting courts to try offenders, etc. 
The rise of a central monarchy and the subordination of the dukes and 
counts to a national king was the growth of centuries. The French nation 
was already consolidated when it became a republic. 

196 



THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC 



197 



America not a 
League of 
States 



The Federal Nation 

America is a decentralized Federal republic. The Ameri- 
can government does not represent a mere league, for it 
does not depend entirely upon the communities called 
States. It is "made up of commonwealths but it is itself a 
commonwealth, because it claims directly the obedience of 
every citizen and acts immediately upon him through its courts 
and executive officers. Still less are its minor communities, 
the States, mere subdivisions of the Union, like the counties 
of England or the departments of France. They have over 
their citizens an authority which is their own, and not dele- 
gated by the central government. They have not been called 
into being by that government. They existed before it; they 
could exist without it. The Union is more than an aggrega- 
tion of States, and the States are more than parts of the 
Union." ^ 

Both the Confederation and the Federal nation indicate 
a union of States, but the union that formed the Federal 
nation created a new state or sovereign nation. It is a 
state made by a union, not merely a union made by States. 
It is a banded state, not merely a band of States. 

The student will notice here that the relation of an American 
State to the nation is quite different from that of a county 
to the State. The county in one of the States of the Union 
is like a county in England, or a department in France, merely 
a division or district carved out for convenience in administer- 
ing and enforcing laws for local purposes. Counties are created Relation of the 
by the State; two of them may be united into one or one of the state 
them carved into two, as the central power of the State may 
wish and determine. Under the Constitution (for all State 
purposes and powers) the State is a little centralized republic 
with full powers over all communities within its borders, 
and all local bodies or districts are subject to its control. 
^ Bryce, American Commonwealth, Vol. I, p. 16. 



1 98 



THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 



The Federal vs. 
the National 
Principle 



The Complex 
National- 
Federal 
Character of 
our 
Government 



The counties did not federate to make the State, as the States 
did to make the Union. They are merely administrative 
parts of the State. 

In 1787 the term federal was used to mean what we now mean 
by confederate, and was used in contradistinction to national. 
From 1781 to 1787 ours was a confederate government but it 
was always called federal.^ It was a government of States, 
made by the States, operating on the States, or through the 
States, and it could be dissolved or abandoned by the States, 
as was done in 1787 when the new Constitution was made. 
A division of sentiment existed in 1787 as to whether a national 
government should be formed. The large States wished to 
do this, but the small States were unwilling. Consequently 
a compromise was brought about, and some uncertainty was 
felt as to whether a national government had been formed. 

Again the student must be referred to his American history. 
The Southern people, following their statesmen, Uke John C. 
Calhoun and Jefferson Davis, afterwards contended that a 
confederate government had been retained in 1787 and they 
objected to its being nationalized and consolidated.- They 
claimed that the States had not surrendered their sovereignty. 
They had delegated it to be used only for certain purposes, 
but had retained the right to resume their full sovereignty 
and independence by secession. They claimed the right to 
preserve or reestablish the kind of a union which, as they 
contended, their fathers had made, and therefore they sought 
to set up the Confederate States of America. 

As we study our government under the Constitution we 
can see that it is partly national and partly federal (confederate). 
In its origin it is federal. That is, the Constitution was made 
by the votes of States and was ratified by the people in States, 
not by the whole national people at large. On the basis of 
power and representation, the government is partly national, 

^ In this passage we use the word " federal " in the sense of confed- 
erate. 



THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC 



199 



partly federal. In the House numbers of people are repre- 
sented, regardless of statehood, the States being used merely 
as convenient areas or districts for apportioning power. This 
is a national idea. But in the senate the States are repre- 
sented as States, — a federal idea. In the election of the 
President the same complex character of government is seen. 
Each State is assigned two electors because it is a State, and 
then more in proportion to its population. 

In the operation of its powers the government is national, 
not federal. It operates on and controls the individual citizen 
directly. It does not depend on the States for the enforcement 
of its laws. It does not need to operate through the States 
but it may act, as any other nation, of its own right and power. 
In the extent of its powers our government is partly national 
and partly Federal. It may do some of the things which all 
national governments may do while others are left to the States. 
It may coin money and make treaties, but it may not license 
a man in Maine or Kansas to teach school or keep a saloon. 
The national Government is one of limited powers. This 
division of powers is more fully discussed in the chapters 
on "The Powers of Congress" and "The States and their 
Government." 



Division of Powers between State and Nation 

So we see that the people of the United States, acting 
through their States, created a Constitution which recognizes 
two governments. State and national. To each of these 
governments they gave certain powers, the nation to be su- 
preme in certain respects, the State in others. The laws of 
the nation are supreme as to all objects assigned to it; the 
laws of the State are supreme in the same way. Both govern- 
ments are the agents of the same supreme power, the people; 
both derive their power from the same source. 

The nation, or the national people embracing all the 
States, is supreme over all and may change this assignment 



How Govern- 
ment Powers 
are divided be- 
tween State 
and Nation 



200 



THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 



or allotment of powers at any time. This is merely saying 
that the people of the United States are a nation, sovereign 
and free to change its form of government as it will. It 
could establish a monarchy or become a part of the British 
Empire if it chose to do so. 

Of course, there cannot be two supreme powers over each 
other, but each can be supreme in the sphere assigned to it 
by the Constitution. The national Government possesses 
those powers which it can be shown the people have conferred 
upon it, and no more. All the rest belong to the State govern- 
ments, or to the people themselves (see p. 189). The Supreme 
Court has become the umpire, or final arbiter, to define the 
respective spheres of the State or national Governments, and 
to prevent one from encroaching upon the other (see p. 329). 
Defining the limits of power between the State and the 
nation; or determining the rights of the States and the 
powers of the national Government; or deciding whether 
under the Constitution we really were a nation, — this issue 
has been the greatest subject of controversy in our history. 
Very early it became the basis of division between political 
parties. It led to the historic struggles over nullification and 
secession. The Constitution left it a debatable question, 
but the decisions of our Supreme Court, our growth toward 
unity, commercial interests, and economic forces, and es- 
pecially the great Civil War, have settled it. Now it is 
admitted by all that the Union is not a league, a mere 
compact of States, but it is a nation, one and indivisible, — 
an "indivisible union of indestructible States." ^ 

The origin of this union and its growth have been the most 

important subjects in our national history. A constant aim 

The Union like ^iduS been to preserve a fair balance between the State and the 

System: Nation, between the centrifugal and the centripetal forces 

Centrifugal and ^^ our Government. In the convention of 1787, which made 

the Constitution, the Federal Union was very aptly compared 

^ The Supreme Court in Texas vs. White. 



Forces 
Leading to 
Nationalization 



Centripetal 
Forces 



THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC 201 

to the solar system, the national Government being called the 
sun and the States the planets, each moving in its proper 
orbit. If the centrifugal force became too strong the planet 
states would fly off into space and be lost; if, on the other hand, 
the centripetal force became too strong the States might be 
drawn into the sun's consuming center and be melted into a 
consolidated mass. The people of America have established 
a dual system, with a Federal Government representing the 
nation, v/hich will not permit itself to be destroyed, and this 
government is to safeguard all national interests; while at the 
same time they have preserved the States with full powers 
to take care of all their local domestic concerns. While the 
American people constitute a nation like the people of any 
other country, yet they act and are governed not as one solid 
mass of people but by means of their several States, organized 
and acting as separate political communities. So the Federal 
republic of America may be defined as a federal-national 
democratic republic, not consolidated but federal, with local 
self-government in the States under the protection of a united 
nation. This enables a strong government to operate over an 
extended area while preserving local governments close to the 
people for local affairs. Such is the e pluribus unum of the 
American Union. ^ 

TOPICS AND QUERIES 

1. Explain how in American history a confederation of States grew into 

a Federal nation. Explain these terms and tell what conflicts, 
in forum and field, occurred over this growth. 

2. What nationalizing influences promoted the change from a con- 

federate to a national government? 

3. Illustrate the difference between the relation of a county to the State 

and the relation of a State to the nation. 

1 The distribution of powers between these two governments, 
Federal and State, is discussed in subsequent chapters. 

For the merits and demerits of the Federal system of government as 
compared with those of a consolidated national system, see Bryce's 
American Commonwealth, Vol. I, pp. 341-359, Chaps. XXIX, XXX. 



202 THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 

4. Explain how the framers of the Constitution came to divide the 
powers of government between the State and the nation? What 
kind of powers did they wish to assign to each? What conflicts 
followed as to the limits of the powers of each? Who is the 
umpire in cases of dispute? May any power overrule the umpire's 
decision? 

REFERENCES 

Ashley, Roscoe L. The American Federal State, pp. 198-206. 
Beard, C. A. American Government and Politics, pp. 145-152. 
Bryce, James. American Commonwealth, Vol. I, Chaps. II and III, 

pp. 15-31- 
Hart, A. B. Actual Government, pp. 48-53; 114-118. 
Hinsdale, B. A. The American Government, pp. 118-124. 
Wilson, Woodrow. Constitutional Government of the United States, 

Chap. VII. 
Willoughby, W. W. The Natitre of the State, Chap. X, pp. 232-243. 
Woodbum, James A. The American Republic and its Government, 
pp. 60-73. 



CHAPTER XI 
POLITICAL PARTIES, PAST AND PRESENT 

The Government is managed by parties. If we are to 
understand how we are governed we must understand how our 
parties are governed. If we wish to govern ourselves we must 
govern our parties. All our officers, from the President down Government 

° , by Party 

to city councilmen and township officers, are usually nominated 
by party processes and elected on party tickets. The party 
is the means, or agency, by which representative popular 
government is carried on. 

The President a Party Leader 

The history of America shows that all the Presidents except 
Washington were elected as party leaders. They conducted 
their administrations not only with a view to the welfare of 
the country but with a desire to promote the interest and 
success of their respective parties. Every President after 
Washington has made up his Cabinet out of his own party 
leaders. There have been so few exceptions to this practice 
since Washington's time that they may be disregarded, and 
these few have occurred for party reasons and from party 
tactics. 

Every President since Washington has taken counsel of his 
party managers in the States. His appointments were from 
among his party followers and workers, and in many ways 
the President has sought to strengthen his party, and to 
make it successful in the next election. Washington sought 
to conduct his administration without regard to party. He 
deplored party strife and an excess of party zeal. He feared 

203 



204 



THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 



Washington's 
Attitude 
toward Parties 



Hamilton vs. 
Jefferson 



The President's 
Cabinet 
must be 
homogeneous 
in Politics 



that parties would become sectional, divided by geographical 
lines, and that men would be sectional partisans rather than 
national patriots, and that party struggles would divide the 
country into factions and prevent what America then needed 
most of all, — ■ the spirit of unity and a love for a united 
country that would enable the States to maintain their in- 
dependence against foreign influence. Moreover, Washington 
looked upon the Presidency, as did many of the men who 
framed the Constitution, as being an ofhce apart from parties, 
or above parties, like the English kingship, and he sought at 
first to conduct his administration by holding a fair, judicial, 
and impartial attitude toward differing party groups. 

He therefore called into the same cabinet Hamilton and Jef- 
ferson, who differed on almost every public question and who 
turned out to be bitter opponents of one another and the 
leaders of their respective parties for the next ten years. 
Even while they were together in Washington's Cabinet these 
two leaders fought one another like Kilkenny cats on almost 
every question that arose. So Washington had to decide 
between these opposing advisers when disputes occurred. 
When he leaned, for the most part, toward Hamilton, on 
the financial and constitutional issues that came up, Jefferson 
soon resigned and became the leader of a party of oppo- 
sition. Jefferson thought Washington had been led astray 
by monarchical English influences.^ 

It was found even before Washington's term expired that 
the President and his Cabinet would have to be homogeneous 
in politics, — that is, they would have to be, in the main, of 
the same mind, opinions, and purposes in matters of public 
policy. They must all stand together and pull in one direction 
or the administration would be wrecked and could accomplish 
nothing in carrying out public measures. This made the 
administration and its supporters a party, and those who 
opposed their policies became the opposition party. From 
^ See Jefferson's Mazzei letter. 



ROLITICAL PARTIES, PAST AND PRESENT 205 



Washington's time to the present day there have been two 
main parties in the country contending for the control of the 
government, — the party in power striving to stay in and the 
party out of power striving to get in. These parties have been 
known by different names and there have been a number of 
minor parties organized for special purposes, but all through 
our history men have understood that the government is to 
be controlled and administered by a party. Wherever, as in 
our country, men are striving to govern themselves, the great 
moving forces that are organized for controlling the govern- 
ment and determining its public policies are political parties. 
It is therefore very important that we should understand how 
these parties are organized and how they do their work. 

Political Parties Defined 

"A party is a body of men united for promoting by their 
joint endeavors the national interest upon some principle on 
which they are all agreed." 

This is Burke's famous definition of a party. In general 
it may be accepted as what a party ought to be. It is a wise 
conception of the general nature of a party. But as a descrip- 
tion of either of the two large political parties in America, 
either now or for many years past, it cannot be fully accepted. 
It would certainly not be quite accurate to say that either the 
Republican or the Democratic party is now, or has been for 
twenty years past, composed of men who are "united" for 
promoting some principle or policy on which they are "all 
agreed." Each of these parties has been sharply divided 
within itself in recent years. When a party is young and out 
of power its members are more likely to be united on certain 
great principles and policies which they wish the government 
to adopt. But when the party grows larger and gets into 
power, and especially when the times change and new con- 
ditions and new issues arise, the members of the party naturally 
tend to divisions and quarrels among themselves. 



The Party 
Administration 
and the 
Opposition 



What is a 
Political Party? 



Divisions and 
Factions 
within a Party 



2o6 THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 

Instead of the members of our political parties agreeing 
among themselves, the men who are really agreed on the new 
principles and policies are often to be found in different parties, 
and the differences and conflicts between the two wings of 
each party (the radicals and the conservatives, it may be) 
become more pronounced and bitter than are the conflicts 
between the two opposing parties themselves. The conflicts 
and antagonisms are within the parties rather than between 
the parties. This has been illustrated several times in our his- 
tory. It was illustrated when the slavery question arose, 
and it is well illustrated in recent politics on what has come 
to be known as progressive policies. So, since men who are 
nominally in the same party differ stoutly on public measures 
and political tendencies we should look for another definition 
of a party. 

"What constitutes a party? In America there is a simple 

test. Any section of men who nominate candidates of their 

Bryce's q^jj fQj- ^\^q presidency and vice presidency of the United 

Definition of ^ , ^ , . , ,, ^ r^e 

an American States are deemed a national party. ^ Oi course, a true party 
Party should represent issues and principles, since where these do not 

exist a party depends for its success upon its organization. 
It must have pledges first and principles afterwards; its 
members, having first decided to agree, must make up their 
minds as to what they are to agree about. This is an arti- 
ficial or an unhealthy condition, or idea, of a party. We ought, 
then, to define a party as a more or less organized group of 
citizens, acting together as a political unit, professing to share 
the same opinions on public questions and exercising their 
voting power to obtain control of the government by nomi- 
nating a ticket for President and Vice President. This defini- 
tion harmonizes with the facts and by it we see that there are 
several political parties in America at the present time, as 
there have been many more in the past. 

1 Bryce, American Commonwealth, Vol. II, p. 41. 



POLITICAL PARTIES, PAST AND PRESENT 207 



The Leading American Parties 

The principal parties in America for more than fifty years 
have been the Republican and the Democratic. Since 1861 RepubUcan and 

■ . Democratic 

the Republican party has been m power, — that is, it has Parties 
controlled the presidency — with the exception of the two 
terms of President Cleveland (1885-1889; 1893-1897) and 
the two terms of President Wilson. Some may count President 
Johnson's term as democratic (1865-1869). Andrew Johnson 
was elected as a "Union" man in 1864 to the Vice Presidency, 
with Lincoln, and when he became President, he opposed the 
Republican leaders in Congress. He was really never a 
Republican. During these fifty years the Democrats have 
been in control of either one or both houses of Congress for 
a part of the time, and also for much of the time of several 
of the States. All of the former slave States, known as the 
"Solid South," have been Democratic during most of this 
period, owing chiefly to the race problem and the issues and 
recollections of reconstruction times. The States of New 
England, Pennsylvania, and the Northwest have generally 
been Republican, partly on account of the divisions and 
traditions coming down from the Civil War, partly on account 
of their interest in a protective tariff and the gold standard 
of money. 

It is not easy to tell the differences between these two Differences 

. . between the 

parties as they are constituted to-day. In general it may Two Large 

be said that the Republicans favor a high protective tariff Parties 

while the Democrats favor a " tariff for revenue only," although 

among the Republicans there are many men who have been 

willing to "revise the tariff downward," while several Demo- '^^^^ 

cratic Southern States, where factories have been rising or 

sugar interests are important, as in Louisiana, have leanings 

toward protection, as has always been the case among the 

Democrats of Pennsylvania and the Northern manufacturing 

centers. As a rule, on questions of the rights and powers states' Rights 



208 



THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 



of the States as against the National Government, and on 
strict construction as against broad construction of the 
Constitution, the Democratic party will be found on the 
side of the States and strict construction, while the Re- 
publican party has been on the side of broad construction 
and national powers. These issues, speaking broadly, 
have been the continuing basis of division between the 
parties for more than a hundred years. However, the par- 
ties have not been clearly tested on nationalism and States' 
rights within recent years, and on any specific case that 
might arise they would be likely to be found divided among 
themselves. 

In 1894, during the great railroad strikes in Chicago, Presi- 
dent Cleveland and Governor Altgeld of Illinois, both Demo- 
crats, differed on this subject, the President asserting the 
Federal power in Illinois over the protest of the Governor, 
who stood for the power of the State to take care of itself 
without interference. The difference, however, was not so 
much on States' rights as it was a difference in the attitude 
of the two men toward the social and labor problems of the 
day. 

The party m power is more inclined to broad construction 
and national powers, while the party out of power is dis- 
posed to oppose these policies, and neither party in itself is 
altogether united on the subject. But historical traditions 
and tendencies have distinguished the two parties as we have 
indicated. 

As a rule the Democrats are more disposed to leave men 
to themselves, with only as little interference from government 
as necessary. This party is inclined to stand for liberty as 
against too much government, on the Jeffersonian principle 
that "that government is best which governs least." On the 
other hand, the Republicans, like the Whigs and Federalists 
before them, are disposed to think more of law and order and 
governmental restraints and are willing to rely more on the 



POLITICAL PARTIES, PAST AND PRESENT 20^ 

authority of the government. They are more ready to increase 
government functions and projects, — such as banks, tariffs, 
internal improvements, ship subsidies, colonial expansion, 
an enlarged navy, etc., though on some of these and other 
governmental projects like a parcels post, government tele- 
graph, telephones and railways or regulation of railway rates, 
pure food laws, and control of the trusts, we find again each 
party divided within itself, with the Democrats rather more 
disposed than the Republicans to allow the Government to 
assume these larger functions in the interest of the people. 
It should be understood, therefore, that it is only by these 
general tendencies that the parties are to be distinguished 
from each other, and men of different kinds and shades of 
opinions on all these subjects are to be found in each 
party. 

Party Divisions 

Since 1896, when Mr. Bryan became the chosen leader of 
the Democrats, and in 1901 when Mr. Roosevelt came into 
the Presidency for the Republicans, the differences within each 
party on these larger powers for government have been more 
pronounced, a radical and a conservative wing appearing in 
each party. Conservative Democrats differ very little from 
conservative Republicans, and the radicals in both parties are 
very much alike. 

These dift'erences within the Republican party in 191 2 
split that party in two, the radicals following Mr. Roosevelt, 
the conservatives following Mr. Taft. Factional and per- 
sonal quarrels and certain party abuses also aided in promoting 
this division. 

Essentially the same divisions have existed within the ranks 
of the Democratic party, Mr. Bryan being one of the leaders of 
the Democratic Progressives. He was influential in bringing 
about President Wilson's nomination in 191 2. Democratic 
Progressives remained within their own party and many 



iio 



THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 



progressive Republicans voted for Wilson against President 
Taft. 

The conservative is one who is disposed to be satisfied 
with things as they are, who looks with indifference, if not 
with hostility, on proposed remedies and reforms; who tends 
to revere the past and look with suspicion and fear on all 
changes; whose chief concern in government is for order, 
safety, and stability. He may not oppose progress, but he 
would first make sure he is right; and he would seek approval 
in old and well-established methods and principles. He es- 
pecially dislikes to have agitators and reformers "tampering 
with the foundations and pillars of the State." If he is an 
extreme conservative he is called a reactionary, one who 
opposes progress and wishes to go back, or hold back, to old 
principles or policies that have been discarded by the people, 
or to return to the methods and institutions of the past. The 
reactionary is sometimes called a tory or bourbon, terms derived 
from English and French history. 

The radical, on the other hand, is one who seeks changes 
and reforms. He wishes to go to the root of poHtical evils. 
He believes that government is like an organic body, — it 
must grow and expand and adapt itself to new conditions 
of society; that it is subject to diseases which must be up- 
rooted and cast out. He is optimistic and eager for new 
experiments and does not hold to institutions and laws merely 
because they are old. If he is an extreme radical he may be 
a revolutionist. 

The conservative is more likely to stand for property and 
privilege, the radical for liberty and democracy. Conser- 
vatism looks with suspicion on liberty, for fear of license and 
disorder; radicalism looks with suspicion on governmental 
and constitutional restraints, for fear of despotism and op- 
pression. In driving Uncle Sam's team, conservatism is 
more likely to use the brakes, radicalism the whip. Radi- 
calism may mean progress and betterment, but it might also 



POLITICAL PARTIES, PAST AND PRESENT 2ir 

mean destruction. Conservatism may mean safety and 
peace, but it might also mean stagnation and death. We 
may say that we ought to seek a golden mean, to be con- 
servatively radical, that is, liberal and progressive but not 
revolutionary.^ 

The liberal is the moderate radical who wishes to reform 
existing institutions, but not to upturn them; he wishes to 
go forward, but not too fast. The liberals claim to be true 
progressives and they are found in both of our large present- 
day parties. If reactionaries and conservatives were to- The Liberal 
gether in one party and liberals and radicals were together in 
another party, we should have a natural division of two 
great poUtical parties, resting on fundamental psychological 
principles. But men representing different degrees of these 
tendencies are divided among the several parties, — Repub- 
lican, Democratic, Progressive, Socialist. 

The radicals call themselves "progressives" and their 
opponents "reactionaries" and "standpatters," that is, those 
who stand fast for the old lines. The Republican "progres- 
sives" in Congress under Republican rule were at first called 
"insurgents," because they were in revolt against their party 
"system" and the control of legislation by a small coterie 
of leaders in charge of the machinery and management of the 
House and Senate. They rebelled against what they called 
the autocratic one-man power of the Speaker and the "big 
business capitalistic oligarchy" in the Senate. The Con- 
servatives deplored the dangers to business and to property 
and prosperity by agitations and changes that are led by 
men whom they looked upon as discontented and emotional 
reformers, and whose teachings (as the conservatives claimed) 
were leading the country toward socialism or anarchy. 

The policies that have been urged by the "Progressives" 
of all parties may be summed up as follows : 

^ See Leacock's Elements of Political Science for a definition of the 
Liberal. 



212 THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 

1. Equal industrial opportunities for all, and equal punish- 
ment for all illegal acts, whether committed by large cor- 
porations or by individuals. They claim that money and 
large corporations have had too much weight in making and 
enforcing the laws, and that the people should strive for in- 
dustrial democracy as well as political democracy. 

2. Government regulation of public service corporations, 
especially the railways, which should be brought under more 
direct pubHc control and be made to serve all equally. Many 
of the Progressives urge a government telegraph and gov- 
ernment telephones. This includes a physical valuation of 
railroad property as a basis of taxation and the regulation 
of rates. 

3. The development of water-ways, to supplement and to 
help control the railways, as avenues of transportation. 

4. The promotion of agriculture by encouraging small 
holdings of land and giving titles to home-seekers. 

5. The conservation of public resources under national 
authority, — water power for irrigation, the forests, the mines, 
and ungranted homesteads for home-seekers. 

6. Popular election of United States Senators and of dele- 
gates to party conventions, under some plan like that in use 
in Oregon. This has now been secured by the Seventeenth 
Amendment. 

7. The income tax, inheritance taxes, franchise taxes, and 
other tax reforms. 

8. Direct control by the people in law-making and in 
the conduct of their political parties by means of the initiative, 
the referendum, and direct party primaries (see pp. 36-52). 

9. Equal suffrage for all, men and women alike. 

10. To these may be added the short ballot, preferential vot- 
ing, and efforts for what has been called "social justice," that 
is, that the richer and more powerful classes may not cheat 
the public or work injustice to the laboring masses. 

These are some of the issues which both political parties 



POLITICAL PARTIES, PAST AND PRESENT 213 



are now struggling over within themselves. Some of these 
reforms have already been obtained. It will be seen to be a 
struggle for proposed or radical reforms, and, for the most 
part, a struggle for more democracy, for a more direct rule 
by the people themselves as against representative government 
under the old forms, for a square deal and equal rights for all. 

Minor Parties 

In addition to the two large parties there are a number of 
minor parties, sometimes called "third parties." 

The Prohibition Party has lived longer than any other 
third party in our history. It first nominated a presidential 
ticket in 1872, and has had a national ticket in the field in every 
campaign since. The party stands for the abolition of the 
manufacture and sale of intoxicating beverages. It claims 
that this is the most important issue before the people and 
that the other issues on which the Democrats and Repub- 
licans seek to divide the voters are "subterfuges under the 
cover of which they wrangle for the spoils of office." In 1872 
the party polled 5608 votes, and in 191 2 it had 207,965 votes. 
The party is made up of morally earnest and faithful men. 
It has been successful in leading old party legislators in some 
of the States to favor local option and other anti-liquor laws 
for fear their voters of prohibition leanings might otherwise 
go off into the Prohibition party. The "Anti-Saloon League," 
representing a cooperation of church anti-liquor workers, is 
made up of men of all parties and is not identified with the 
Prohibitionists 

The People's Party, or the "Populists," appeared in 1892 
as a successor to the Greenback and Labor Reform parties. 
It was an attempt in politics to combine the laboring classes, — 
the organized labor of the cities and the farmers' Granges 
and Alliances of the country. In 1892 it polled more than 
1,200,000 votes for James B. Weaver for President, and this 
entitles it to be called the largest "third party" in our his- 



The 
Prohibitionists 



The 
Populists 



214 THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 

tory.^ In 1896 the influence of this party was quite power- 
ful in determining the course of the Democratic party. After 
Mr. Bryan's nomination by the Democrats on a platform 
favorable to some of the Populist demands, this party in- 
dorsed him for President, and a fusion was brought about 
between the Democrats and the Populists. The Populists 
who refused to join the fusion kept up for some time in- 
dependent nominations and were known as the "Middle-of- 
the-Road Populists." 

The Populists demanded that the railroads be brought more 
fully under State control and ownership, in order to secure 
fairer treatment to the producers, consumers, and shippers; 
that the public lands, the "heritage of the people," should not 
be monopolized for speculative purposes, but should be reserved 
for actual settlers; that the telegraph and telephone systems, 
like the post office, should be owned and operated by the Gov- 
ernment in the interest of the people, with all government 
employes under strict civil service regulations; that there 
should be an increase of the currency to $50 per capita, by 
the issue of greenbacks as full legal-tender money, issued 
directly by the Government and not by the banks; and, along 
with this, that there should be free and unlimited coinage of 
gold and silver; a graduated income tax; a postal savings 
bank. The party also recommended the iniatitive and referen- 
dum. It will be seen from these demands that the People's 
party was the forerunner, the sponsor and promoter, of many 
of the "progressive" policies of the present day. It repre- 
sented, in some respects, a tendency towards socialism, in 
calling for a larger State agency and activity in solving our 
industrial problems. 
The Socialists j/je Socialist Party in the United States was formed by a 

^The Progressive Party in 191 2 was the second party in number of 
votes (over 4,000,000). But the Republican Party in that year should 
hardly be thought of as a "third party" in the ordinary sense. Its 
vote may be thought of as having been divided under two names. 



POLITICAL PARTIES, PAST AND PRESENT 215 

union in 1900 between the Social Democratic party and the 
Socialist Labor party. An organized body of SociaUsts 
existed under the name of the Socialist Labor party as early 
as 1877, but the party first appeared with a presidential 
ticket in 1892, and polled 21,000 votes. The Social Dem- 
ocratic party was organized in 1897 under the leadership 
of Eugene V. Debs, partly as a result of the failure of the 
great railway strikes of 1894. In 1900 these two socialist 
parties united and nominated Eugene V. Debs, of Indiana, for 
President, and Job Harriman, of California, for Vice President. 
The United Socialists have since been known as the Socialist 
party, and Mr. Debs was its presidential candidate at every 
election till 191 6. 

Some of the followers of the Socialist Labor party refused to 
go into the union. They have since kept up a separate party 
and have nominated separate tickets. They represent only 
a small and extreme class of socialists, their ticket in 1916 
receiving only 29,071 votes. 

The vote of the SociaHst party has increased from 87,000 
in 1900 to 420,000 in 1908, and to 898,296 in the national 
elections of 191 2, though the vote declined to 590,000 in 
1916. The party has elected two Congressmen (Victor L. 
Berger, of Milwaukee, and Mr. Meyer London, of New York 
City), the mayors of several cities, and some members of 
State legislatures. 

The Socialists generally favor putting the unemployed to 
work on public works and improvements; the public owner- 
ship of telegraphs, telephones, railroads, steamship lines, 
and other means of transportation and communication, and 
of all other industries in which competition has ceased to 
exist. They advocate the inheritance tax and the income 
tax; equal suffrage for men and women; the initiative and 
referendum; the abolition of the United States Senate, and the 
taking away from the Supreme Court the power to declare 
acts of Congress null and void. They form one of our most 



2i6 THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 

radical parties, with pronounced democratic purposes, and 
with some members of a revolutionary tendency. The 
Socialists throughout the world have generally been opposed 
to war, though in the Great European War they have, for the 
most part, supported their respective countries. The majority 
of the American Socialists on a referendum vote among the 
members of the party opposed the entrance of the United 
States into the war, voting for the statement that Germany's 
conduct did not justify such a course. Most of the intel- 
lectual leaders of this party left it in support of the war, but 
the party organization has been under the control of pacifists 
and opposers of war. 

TOPICS AND QUERIES 

1. Debate: "Resolved, that party radicalism in the past has been of 

greater service to the country than party conservatism." 

2. Debate: "Resolved, that in American politics to-day we need radi- 

calism more than conservatism." 

3. Debate: "Resolved, that third parties have done more good than 

harm in our history." 

4. Why did Washington wish to make the President independent of 

parties? Why did he fail? Is it better as it is? 

5. Debate: "Resolved, that voters should be more independent of 

parties." 

6. Why is it so difficult to form a third party and bring it into first 

place? Is the two party system desirable? 

7. Was the Democratic party as democratic as the Republican party 

when the latter was formed, 1854-1860? Why? 

8. What is the difference between a Democrat and a democrat? 

REFERENCES 

Bryce, James. American Commonwealth, Vol. II, Chap. 53, pp. 3-20. 
j/Croly, Herbert. The Promise of American Life, Chaps II and III, on 
"Federalists and Republicans," "Democrats and Whigs." 
I Hopkins, James H. Political Parties in the United States. A number 
of party platforms after 1840. 
KeUock, Harold, " A New Liberal Party," in Century Magazine, October, 
1917. 
// Macy, Jesse. Political Parties in the United States, 1 846-1 861 -■ 
McClure, A. K. Our Presidents and How We Make Them. 



POLITICAL PARTIES, PAST AND PRESENT 217 

McKee, Thomas H. National Conventions and Platforms of all Political 
Parties. 

Merriam, C. E. American Political Theories, Chaps. IV and V, "Jeffer- 
sonian and Jacksonian Democracy." 

Stanwood, Edward. A History of the Presidency, an account of suc- 
cessive presidential contests with copies of the party platforms, 
1789-1896, continued in a second volume to 1908. 

Woodburn, James A. Political Parties and Party Problems in the 
United States, pp. 3-233. A summary of party history in America. 

See other references following Chapter XII. 



CHAPTER XII 

PARTIES AND THEIR MACHINERY: HOW A PARTY 
NOMINATES AND ELECTS A PRESIDENT 

By the party machine is meant the party organization, 
the committees and conventions that attend to the business 
of the party. Party conventions meet from time to time to 
appoint party committees, to nominate candidates, and to set 
forth the party principles and poHcies. These conventions 
are temporary; they come and go, but the party committees 
which make up the permanent, working part of the machine go 
on from year to year. The membership of the committees 
may change from time to time, but the committees themselves 
are continuous. The Democratic National Committee has 
been in existence since 1848; the Republican, since 1856. 
In addition to the national committee for each party there 
are also State committees, congressional district committees, 
county committees, city committees, ward committees, town- 
ship committees, etc. — making a great network of committees 
throughout the country, each having its own part of the party 
business to attend to. This calls for a great army of party 
workers, and these party workers who give their attention to 
party pohtics are called the "machine," or the organization. 
The machine is the working force of the party. 

This party machinery of conventions and committees 
has been in operation for many years, almost as it is now. 
Let us notice the order and method by which it works in the 
process of president-making. 

218 



PARTIES AND THEIR MACHINERY 219 . 

The National Committee 

In a presidential year, the first step in the process of 
nominating the presidential candidate is the meeting of the 
National Committee. The Chairman calls the Committee 
to meet in Washington early in the presidential year. The 
National Committee is made up of one member from each State. Composition of 

. ^ . . The National 

These members are appomted at the previous national con- committee 
vention of the party, each State delegation naming a member 
to serve for the following four years. In some States it is 
provided that the party voters may choose their party com- 
mitteemen on the National Committee by a primary. This 
is for the purpose of making the Committee more responsible 
to the rank and file of the party. 

The National Committee issues a "Call" for the conven- 
tion in the name of the party. This "Call" names the time 
and place for the meeting of the National Convention, urges 
all voters who believe in the principles of the party to co- The"Can"for 

r , , , „ T 1 , t^« National 

operate m the selection of delegates and tells how and when convention 
the delegates should be elected, usually not sooner than 
thirty days after the date of the "Call" nor later than thirty 
days before the meeting of the National Convention. The 
credentials of the delegates must be forwarded to the Secre- 
tary of the National Committee at least twenty days before 
the beginning of the convention. 

Until recent years each State was represented in the 
National Convention by twice as many delegates as 
the State has representatives and senators in Congress; 
that is, by twice as many as its electoral vote. Four 
delegates at large were appointed for each State and two 
delegates for each Congressional district. Since the appor- 
tionment act of 191 1 (see p. 272), and the admission to 
statehood of New Mexico and Arizona, there have been 435 
members of Congress in the lower house and g6 Senators. Number of 

. Delegates 

There would be on the old basis, therefore, in the National 



220 



THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 



How the 
Method of 
Representation 
in the National 
Convention 
came about 



True Basis of 
Representation 



Convention 192 Senatorial delegates, or delegates at large/ 
and 870 delegates for the Congressional districts, or 1062 
from all the States.^ The Democratic party still retains this 
historic basis of representation in its national conventions. 

This method of representation in the party national con- 
ventions came about in the beginning of the convention sys- 
tem in Jackson's time, because the parties wished to fashion 
their party constitution after that of the Federal Govern- 
ment. As the States were represented in Congress for mak- 
ing the laws, so, it was thought, they should be represented 
in the convention for making the President. Much import- 
ance was attached to the States in those days and the con- 
vention was made on a federal basis. Until 1848 each State 
was allowed only the same number of votes in the con- 
vention as it had Senators and Representatives in Con- 
gress. Since then twice as many have been allowed. This 
has resulted in unequal and unfair representation of the 
party in its convention. Especially has this been true in 
the representation in the Republican convention from the 
Southern States where that party is very weak. In all local 
party conventions — state, district, county, or city — the 
party is represented in proportion to the number of party 
voters in the various communities that send delegates. In 
a State convention, for instance, a county that casts 5000 
Republican votes has ten times as many delegates as a county 



^ There would be two more delegates at large for every Congressman 
elected at large in the State. 

2 In addition to these State delegates, there are also six delegates from 
Hawaii (as an organized territory), and the Republicans allow two dele- 
gates each from the District of Columbia, Alaska, Porto Rico, and the 
Philippine Islands, whUe the Democrats allow six delegates to each of 
these territories and possessions. This made altogether, 1076 delegates 
in the Republican convention until the change of 1916 and 1092 in the 
Democratic convention. There are elected also an equal number of alter- 
nates, one for each delegate, to take his place if the delegate cannot 
attend. This makes more than 2100 delegates and alternates, who were 
entitled to admission to the convention haU. 



PARTIES AND THEIR MACHINERY 



221 



that casts only 500 Republican votes. No one would propose 
any other plan. Equal numbers of people should have equal 
power and unequal numbers of people should have unequal 
power. That is a basic principle of representative republican 
government. 

For fully thirty years proposals for readjusting represen- 
tation in Republican conventions were made, but nothing 
was done until after the fatal party smash-up in 191 2. Now 
the Republican party has adopted a new rule for represen- 
tation in the national convention which was announced in the 
call for the Republican National convention of 1916. This 
plan allows only one delegate instead of two from congressional 
districts where the republican vote in the last presidental con- 
gressional election was less than 7500. The number of dele- 
gates was reduced by 89, the loss falling mostly on the South, 
with a slight increase of voting power in the West (where 
women vote) as compared to the North and East. 

If more than the authorized number of delegates from 
any State claim the right to sit in the convention, a contest 
is deemed to exist and the whole National Committee meets in 
the convention city a few days before the convention, to decide 
which of the contesting delegates shall be allowed to sit during 
the temporary organization and proceedings of the convention. 
Herein lies the great power of the National Committee. It 
may unseat duly elected delegates and seat others as it will. 
Instead of being an obedient agent of the national convention, 
or an impartial judicial body to see that fair play and justice 
are done and that the interests of the whole party are safe- 
guarded, it has at times used its powers entirely for one 
faction without regard to fairness, and thus it may become the 
directing power to. control the convention and determine its 
actions and nominations. Some authority must make up a 
rightful preliminary roll of the convention, and this work has 
always fallen to the National Committee. Later the conven- 
tion itself, through its committee on credentials, may recon- 



The New 

Republican 

Rule 

Reduction of 

Southern 

Representation 



The National 
Committee and 
Contested 
Delegates 



222 



THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 



Differences 
between the 
Parties in 
Electing 
Delegates 



sider and overrule the decisions of the National Committee 
and displace delegates to whom the National Committee has 
assigned seats. But if the National Committee is able to 
make up a majority of the convention in the first place it will 
probably be able to control the convention committee on 
credentials, and the "preliminary roll" as determined by the 
National Committee is not likely to be decisively changed. 

Election of Delegates 

In the Republican party the four delegates-at-large (the 
Senatorial delegates) are elected by a State Convention; the 
other delegates from the State are elected in district conven- 
tions, two from each district. 

In the Democratic party all the delegates from a State are 
elected by the State convention and are regarded, not as dele- 
gates from local districts, but as delegates of the State. This 
recognizes the unity and sovereignty of the State and is in 
harmony with the precedent and principle of the Democratic 
party. The Congressional Districts are recognized by the 
Democrats, however, as convenient divisions for nominating 
delegates, but the State, not the Congressional district, is re- 
garded as the unit. The delegates from the various counties 
to the Democratic State Convention meet in their respective 
district caucuses the day before the meeting of the State con- 
vention, and the delegates to the national convention are 
chosen in the first instance by these district caucuses, but 
when each district caucus has chosen its delegates, the names 
of all from the various districts are reported to the full State 
convention, which then confirms their election. The dele- 
gation is then regarded as a State delegation and the State 
convention may place it under instructions and require it 
to act as a unit. 

The delegates are said to be instructed when the convention 
which appointed them passes a resolution directing the dele- 
gates how they shall vote on certain candidates and measures. 



PARTIES AND THEIR MACHINERY 223 

In the Democratic national convention the instructions 

of the State convention are binding and the delegates are 

required to carry them out; but the Republican delegates, 

while they are influenced by, are not bound to follow the instructions 

instructions of, the district or State conventions which elect 

them. Each Republican delegate is free to vote as he will, 

though custom and the unwritten party law will likely control 

his conduct. The convention, however, will record his vote 

as he casts it. 

The dissatisfaction with the national convention and the 
way delegates have been chosen to it has led to a movement 
for presidential-preferential primaries. This is the plan of 
providing by law to give to the voters of the party an oppor- Presidential 

Preference 

tunity to express their preference by voting directly upon primaries 
presidential candidates, or to elect by districts and States 
their party delegates to the national convention, the dele- 
gates to be bound to vote in the convention for that candidate 
for President for whom the delegate announces himself, or 
whom the people prefer, as shown by their votes. This plan 
would enable the party voters to nominate their candidates 
directly and the delegates will be their agents bound to ratify 
their choice, just as the presidential electors are in the electoral 
college. 

Already thirteen States ^ have adopted the presidential- 
preference primaries by law, and other States are preparing 
to do so, and progressive Democrats and Republicans are 
urging that it be done in all the States. Oregon not only 
elects its delegates by popular vote, but provides also for pay- 
ing their railroad fare to the convention, in order that the 
delegates may not be under obligation to certain men or certain 
interests for favors. 

The New Jersey preferential primary law may be taken to 

1 Oregon, California, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Wisconsin, Illinois, 
Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Pennsylvania, Michigan, 
Maryland, Montana. 



224 



THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 



New Jersey 
Preferential 
Primary Law 



The National 
Convention 



illustrate the new system. This law provides that delegates 
to the national conventions shall be selected directly by the 
party voters and may be pledged to support a particular 
candidate for the presidential nomination. At the same time 
the party voters may indicate their preference between those 
candidates whose names shall have been placed on the primary 
ballot by a petition of looo voters among their party friends. 
The law does not bind the delegates elected to vote for the 
presidential candidate preferred by a majority of the party 
voters, but the candidates for delegates are likely to pledge 
themselves to do so. Groups of candidates for delegates 
announce themselves, one group favoring one presidential 
candidate, another group another candidate. The delegates 
are elected by Congressional Districts, except the four for the 
State at large. It may happen that the majority of the party 
preferential vote in the whole State may go for one candidate, 
while the majority of the delegates elected may be for another. 
This might be obviated by having all the delegates elected 
by the State at large or having the preferential expression 
taken only by districts. 

The National Convention 

The elected delegates, accompanied by the alternates, 
together with thousands of visitors in the galleries, assemble 
at the time appointed in the Call in some "wigwam," or 
great convention hall. The convention meets to perform 
two great functions of government: First, to announce the 
principles on which it wishes to appeal to the people for sup- 
port. Second, to select the candidate whom it wishes to 
place at the head of the nation. 

The leaders of the party attend the convention from all 
parts of the Union, and the events, struggles, and conflicts of 
these conventions present some of the most interesting and 
dramatic aspects of our history. The chairman of the National 
Committee calls the convention to order. On behalf of the 



PARTIES AND THEIR MACHINERY 225 

Committee he names a temporary chairman, who will likely 
be accepted without contest. The temporary chairman makes 
a "keynote speech," in eulogy of the party, of its policies, 
and its leaders. 

Four important committees are then appointed, namely, 
those on: (a) Permanent Organization, (b) Rules and Order 
of Business, (c) Credentials, (d) Resolutions. The members 
of these committees are named, not by the chairman, but 
by the respective State delegations, one man on each com- 
mittee for each State. The convention takes a recess while 
these committees prepare their reports to be made at later 
sessions of the convention. 

The Committee on Permanent Organization reports a per- 
manent president for the convention, with a, list of Vice 
Presidents, Secretaries, etc. The permanent President, on 
taking the chair, also makes an important speech to the 
convention and to the country, sounding another "keynote," 
that is, urging another plea for his party's success at the polls. 

The Committee on Rules and Order of Business reports in 
what order the convention shall proceed with the matters 
that are to come before it and the special and parliamentary 
rules by which its business shall be conducted. 

The Committee on Credentials passes upon the contest for 
seats to determine who are the rightful delegates. It may 
confirm or undo the work of the national committee in seating 
certain delegates, as has been indicated, and since the report 
of this committee, if accepted by the convention, will deter- 
mine who has a right to sit and vote in the convention, its 
report is one of the first to be acted upon. 

The Committee on Resolutions reports the platform to the 
convention. This is a set of resolutions, or an address, pro- 
claiming the principles of the party and setting forth the 
promises and policies by which the party hopes to win the The Platform 
votes of the people. The platform usually " points with pride " 
to the achievements of the party, "deprecates" the policies 



226 



THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 



The Candidate 



The Two- 
thirds' Rule 
and the Unit 
Rule 



of the opposing party, and "views with alarm" the prospect of 
its triumph. Sometimes where there is a division within the 
party, the platform makers, like adroit or tricky politicians, 
seek to satisfy both sides and offend neither, consequently 
the platform may be evasive, ambiguous, or two-faced, looking 
both ways. The platform is the pledge of the party to the 
people and it should be made, not merely to catch votes, not 
merely to get in on, but to stand on, and to carry out after the 
party is in power. The party that is afraid to announce its 
principles or that violates its pledges hardly deserves to be 
again intrusted with power and office. 

The last important business before the convention is the 
nomination of the candidates. The roll of the States is called, 
and each State delegation has an opportunity to place a name 
before the convention, or to second a nomination already 
made. When all the names of the various candidates have 
been brought forward and the eloquent nominating speeches 
are ended, the balloting begins, and it continues until some 
candidate has obtained a sufficient number of votes to nominate 
him, though the convention may have to adjourn or take a 
recess several times before a nomination can be accomplished. 
The leading candidates are called "favorites"; those put for- 
ward by particular States without much general support are 
"favorite sons"; and if none of these can muster enough 
votes to be nominated, a "dark horse" may be brought in, 
that is, a man who has not been at all prominently mentioned 
or whose name has not before been before the convention. 
Polk was the first "dark horse" in our pohtics (1844), and 
Pierce and Garfield are other instances. 

In the balloting two rules should be noticed that mark 
two notable differences between the Republican and Demo- 
cratic conventions, namely, the Two-thirds^ Rule and the 
Unit Rule. These rules are used by the Democrats but not 
by the Republicans. 

The Two-thirds' Rule is a rule that provides that no 



PARTIES AND THEIR MACHINERY 227 

candidates for President or Vice President shall be declared 
nominated unless he shall have received at least two thirds of 
all the votes cast. Thus in a Republican convention of 1076 
delegates, 539 votes, a bare majority, will be enough to nomi- 
nate, but in a Democratic convention which has 1092 delegates 
it requires 728 votes to nominate. 

There is now much opposition to the Two-thirds' Rule, as 
being contrary to the fundamental principle of democracy, 
that is, majority rule. It is objected to as opening the way 
by which shrewd political bosses and managers may, by 
intrigue, combinations, and corrupt practices, defeat a popular 
candidate and thwart the popular will. The Two-thirds' Rule, 
however, is sustained by precedent; the party managers are 
used to it; and there is such a relation between it and the 
Unit Rule that it is difl&cult to bring about its abolition. 

The Unit Rule is a rule which allows the majority of a State 
delegation to cast the entire vote for the State. Under it the 
State delegation must vote as a unit for the man or measure 
the majority favors, if the State convention that appointed 
the delegates has instructed them to do so. To illustrate: 
New York has 90 votes in the convention. If 46 of these 
favor one candidate and 44 another, all of the 90 votes are 
counted for the candidate favored by the majority. The 
whole vote goes as the majority may decide. 

If the State convention has not instructed the delegates to 
vote as a unit, the convention will recognize the right of each 
delegate to cast his individual vote as he pleases. It is held 
that the State should be supreme and have the right to deter- 
mine how its wiU shall be expressed, — in harmony with the 
well-known Democratic doctrine of States' rights. 

The Unit Rule is also applied in adopting the platform and 
on other important questions, as well as in nominating the 
candidate. By using the Unit Rule the majority of the dele- 
gates in ten or twelve of the largest States could come very 
near to controlling the convention, though many of their own 



22!: 



THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 



The 

Nomination 

of the 

Vice President 



delegates from those States were opposed to the candidate 
and policy favored by their majority. The majority from 
these large States (being allowed to cast not only their own 
votes, but also the votes of the minority opposing them) 
would not need much help from other States to nominate their 
candidate. It is, therefore, thought best to retain the Two- 
thirds^ Rule in order to prevent a nomination from being made 
by an actual minority of the convention by shrewd management 
and by the control of State conventions under the Unit Rule.^ 
After the President is nominated the exciting part of the 
contest is ended. Interest in the convention seems to collapse. 
Little attention is given to the nomination for Vice President. 
The triumphant faction of the party may bring about the 
nomination of a leader of the defeated faction, to conciUate 
and win its support. Geographical considerations wiU have 
weight. If the presidential nomination has gone to the east 
a man from another section will likely be put on the ticket for 
Vice President. The nomination may have been bargained 
away to a State for the support of that State's delegation in 
the contest for the presidency. It may be the nomination 
will be hurried or accidental and a man may be named of whom 
most of the voters of the party have never heard. Several 
Presidents have died in office and no man should be nominated 
for Vice President who is not worthy of being made President, 
and he should represent the majority of the party, in order 
that the policy favored by the majority shall not be reversed 
if the Vice President should come into the Presidency. 

The Campaign 

The "campaign" is the contest between the parties for 
success at the polls. It occupies the period from the nomi- 
nations to the election, from July to November. Each party 

1 Study the table of the Electoral College, Appendix, and see if you can 
work out a minority nomination by a combination of large States work- 
ing under the unit rule, supposing a maximum minority of the large State 
delegations to be opposed to the choice of the majority. 



PARTIES AND THEIR MACHINERY 



229 



has its campaign committee (a sub-committee of the National The Campaign 
Committee), whose chairman stands in close relation to the o^nuttees 
presidential candidate and acts as his manager. A special 
committee appointed by the convention "notifies" the candi- 
dates, both for President and Vice President, of their nomi- 
nation, who reply in speeches and, later, in "letters of accept- 
ance," further defining the issues of the campaign and setting 
forth their best arguments for their party cause. A large 
public meeting, or rally, is gotten up for the "notification 
speech," of the presidential candidate and this may be regarded 
as the "opening gun " of the campaign. " Party headquarters" 
are opened in New York, Chicago, and other centers, with 
managers in charge, directing a force of mailing clerks and 
stenographers, and making arrangements for sending out 
speakers and all kinds of party literature, printed in every 
language known among the voters. All the State committees 
are active and they send instructions to the county committees, 
stirring them to action. 

A "campaign textbook" is issued. It contains the plat- 
form of the party, the candidates' acceptance speeches, 
pictures and short biographies of the candidates, certain 
speeches of the party leaders in Congress, and facts and 
figures calculated to support the party claims. From the 
"campaign textbook" the "spell-binders" and the "cart- 
tail orators" draw their arguments arid speeches. These 
are the speakers who go out into the city wards and county 
districts to make "stump speeches" for the party. 

All kinds of party clubs are organized, first voters' clubs, 
marching clubs, German clubs, Irish clubs, Polish clubs, 
business men's clubs, and every race and occupation are 
called upon to organize and work in behalf of the party. 
Badges, buttons, and banners are distributed; placards and 
posters are stuck up in public places; bands, barbecues, and 
rallies are used to arouse the voters. In the close States 
every voter is listed (and labeled with his party preference if 



Campaign Lit- 
erature and 
Speakers 



230 



THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 



Campaign 
Funds 



Sources of 
Campaign 
Funds 



it can be learned) in the poll-books of the party committees, 
in an effort to ascertain, if possible, how each State is likely 
to vote. This is called taking a party poll, which is done two 
or three times in a campaign. AU this means an immense 
amount of work and the expenditure of large amounts of money. 
The aim of the campaign committee in all this work is to unite 
the party and heal all the breaches, to recruit new voters, to 
arouse the party adherents to enthusiasm, and to educate the 
voters on the party issues and policies. 

To pay for this work campaign funds must be 
raised. The workers must be paid for their time and labor, 
though much of the work is voluntary from loyalty to the 
party, while the State and local candidates do a great deal. 
The candidates for President and Vice President make a tour 
of the country, going by special train and striving to reach all 
sections, making many speeches a day. The legitimate ex- 
penses are heavy, — for trains, haU rent, music, fireworks, 
posters, pictures of the candidates, cartoons; for campaign 
agents, paying the party speakers their traveling expenses, 
and those of the party committee men; for plate reading matter 
for the country newspapers; employing challengers at the 
polls and the poll- takers during the campaign; for carriages 
to bring up the disabled voters ; charges for postage, telegraph, 
telephone and expressage, — all these are legitimate campaign 
expenses, though at times party managers may "employ" 
men to work merely as an indirect way of buying their votes. 
But much of the money is also used corruptly in ways the 
people would not countenance if they knew of it. 

There are several sources from which these campaign funds 
are derived: 

1. Voluntary contributions by members of the party. 

2. Assessments upon the party candidates. Party commit- 
tees expect each candidate to pay somewhat in proportion to 
the salary of the office for which he is running, — a question- 
able practice which public sentiment is now tending to check. 




Presidential Caiipaigxing in the W'l 




J^J '^^kih ^ ^ -life |.' 



hi -■'..: 




A Political Parade 



PARTIES AND THEIR MACHINERY 231 

3. Assessments upon office-holders, laid by the managers 
of the party in power. This is in violation of the law 
and the civil service regulations of the Federal Government 
and can be practiced only lawlessly and secretly. 

4. Private contributions by rich men and corporations, 
who are interested in securing certain laws and policies enacted 
by the successful party. Corporations have been known to 
give generously to both party funds so as to "stand in well" 
and get what they want, whichever party is successful. 
Large campaign funds coming from hidden sources have led 
to serious corruption in the elections. The result has been 
that public sentiment has been aroused to demand publicity 
of campaign contributions, in order that the people may know 
where the money comes from and how it is spent, and Con- 
gress has forbidden corporations to contribute at all. In 
1906 a law was passed in New York requiring political com- 
mittees to file detailed statements of receipts and expendi- 
tures and providing for judicial investigation to enforce 
correct statements. 

It has been estimated that the total cost of a presidential 
election to both parties, including State and local contests, 
is at least $15,000,000. Publicity will do much to remedy 
many of the evils connected with campaign practices and the 
use of money to control the elections.^ 

The Congressional Campaign Committee does a special work. "^^^ 

. 1 , Congressional 

This committee is entirely separate from the National Com- campaign 
mittee. It is appointed by the party members of Congress, Committee 
and consists, generally, of a member of Congress from each 
State. It has for its special purpose the election of the party 
candidates for Congress, while the national and State com- 
mittees are trying to elect the president and State tickets. 

^ See The Dollars behind the Ballots, World To-day, Vol. xv, p. 946 
(1908); Woodburn's Political Parties and Party Problems, Chap. XIX, 
on "Party Finance," and the pamphlets of the National Popular 
Government League on "Effective Publicity and Corrupt Practices 
Arts." 



232 THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 

The Congressional Committee makes special efforts in the close 
districts, sending out speakers and literature in an effort to 
elect a majority of the members of Congress. 

The Congressional Committee had its origin in 1866, when 
Congress and the President were at odds with one another. 
The chairman of the regular Republican National Committee 
and others of the organization were supporters of the "Presi- 
dential" party. The ''Congressional" party organized a 
committee of Republican Congressmen who were charged 
with the task of carrying the election in a majority of the 
Congressional districts. They won more than two thirds of 
the Congressional seats. Since then both parties have main- 
tained active Congressional Campaign Committees. 

The Election 

The campaign continues to the eve of the election, which is 
held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November. 
The voters vote, not for the President and Vice President 
directly — the names of these candidates need not be upon 
the ticket — but for a set of electors equal in number to the 
State's Senators and Representatives in Congress. These 
electors have been previously nominated for each party by 
State and district conventions. The election in November is 
the real election, for the electors chosen that day will vote for 
their party candidates. This they do when they meet as an 
Electoral College on the second Monday in January (see 
p. 238). A result of the electoral vote for each State is sent 
to Washington, both by messenger and by mail, and on the 
second Wednesday in February the two houses of Congress 
meet together to count the votes and declare the result. On 
the 4th of March the President-elect is inaugurated. 

TOPICS AND QUERIES 

1. Since a "machine" is necessary to parties why has the term fallen 

into disrepute? 

2. How can the "rank and file" of a party control the party against 

the efforts of the "machine"? 



PARTIES AND THEIR MACHINERY 233 

3. Debate: "Resolved that the convention system ought to be aban- 

doned and nominations made by party primaries." 

4. Would it be better to retain the convention and elect delegates by 

a primary vote? 

5. How should a voter decide which party he should support? Why 

do so many young voters vote as their fathers voted? Why 
should they not do so? 

6. In considering the support of a party, which is the more important, 

the platform or the candidate? Why? Are principles more 
important than men? 

7. Debate: "Resolved that more harm than good comes from a 

Presidential Campaign." 

8. Is the Republican national convention more democratic than the 

Democratic national convention? Account for the difference. 
REFERENCES 

Beard, C. A. American Government and Politics, Chap. IX, pp. 166-186. 
"Nomination and Election of the President." See also Beard's 
Readings, Chaps. VI and VII. 

Bryce, James. American CommonwealtJi, Vol. II, pp. 21-221. A full 
and illuminating treatment of the American party system. 

Cleveland, F. A. Organized Democracy, Chap. XV, pp. 201-219. 
"Nomination of Candidates." 

Consult McLaughlin and Hart's Cyclopedia of Government for articles 
on "Machines," "Conventions," "Caucus," "Nominations," 
"Two-thirds' Rule," "Republican party," "Democratic party." 
Also the Reader's Guide to Periodical Literature for current dis- 
cussions on topics relating to politics and parties. 

Fess, Simeon D. Political Tlteory and Party Organization in the United 
States. Chiefly historical. 

Ford, Henry J. Rise and Growth of American Politics, pp. 90-207. 

Fuller, Robert H. Government by the People. Chap. V, "Nomination 
of Candidates." 

Guitteau, William B. Government and Politics in the United States, 
Chaps. 36 and 37, pp. 445-473. 

Jones, Chester Lloyd. Readings on Parties and Elections in the United 
States. Note Chaps. I, II, IV, VII. 

Macy, Jesse. Party Organization and Machifiery. An exposition of 
party practice and organization as in actual operation. 

Ostrogorski, M. Democracy and tlie Party System. A philosophical 
discussion of the subject. 

Ray, P. O. An Introduction to Political Parties and Practical Politics, 
pp. 1-246. A vivid treatment of the whole subject, with full 
references to valuable articles in periodical literature. 

Woodburn, James A. Political Parties and Party Problems in tfie 
United States, Part II, pp. 237-317. A summary of party ma- 
chinery and its usages. See select references to periodical literature. 



CHAPTER XIII 
THE PRESIDENT 

The office of President was created by the Constitution of 
1787. One of tlie well-known defects of the Articles of Con- 
Three federation was that they did not provide for a suitable executive 
of Government power to see to the enforcement of laws. The Convention of 
1787 determined to make the new government consist of 
three distinct divisions, or branches, the legislative to make 
the laws, the judicial to judge or apply the laws, and the 
executive to execute the laws. The President is the head 
of the Executive branch, that is, he is the Chief Executive, 
whose business it is to carry out and administer the laws and 
public policies that the people may decide upon. 

Relation of President to Congress: Theory of 
Separated Powers 

It was expected in the beginning that the President was 
to be merely the executive agent of Congress. He was to be 
independent of Congress, in a sense; that is. Congress was not 
empowered to elect him, as the Prime Minister may be elected 
and dismissed by the Commons in England. And it was 
expected and designed that the laws and public poHcies 
of the country should be determined upon in Congress without 
any interference from the President or without activity or 
influence on his part in attempting to lead or direct Congress 
as to what course should be taken. The President might 
suggest legislation to Congress in his messages to that body, 
or if he did not approve of bills passed by Congress he 
might exercise his veto, but beyond that he was not to control 
its action. Each department of the government was to be 
independent of the other, each had its separate duties and 

234 



Growth and 
Change in the 
President's 
Powers 




The White House, Washington, D. C. 
Front view, showing the original building. 







,»?»?^»« 



!!'!.... 




The Executr^ Offices, adjoining the White House 
This was added during President Roosevelt's administration. 




K 



THE PRESIDENT 



235 



sphere of action, — the Legislature was to attend to making 
the laws, the Executive to enforcing them. 

This theory of the "separation of the powers" of govern- 
ment seemed to the makers of the constitution to be vital 
and fundamental. Madison held the principle to be "essential 
to liberty," and our fathers wished, above all things, to provide 
for this in the new government which they were setting up. 

In actual practice, as shown by our history, this idea of the 
"separation of the powers" has not been found to be workable. 
The President has come to be looked upon as the representative 
of the people as much as are the members of Congress. Jeffer- 
son, a democratic leader, brought his party into power with a 
view to guiding the government in changing the policy of the 
country, and it was Jefferson (with the people behind him) 
who really determined what Congress should do. It was the 
same way under Jackson, who was called "the tribune of the 
people." His control was decisive; he was expected to lead 
Congress or to fight it, which he did effectively. The same 
thing was true, by different methods, under Washington and 
under Lincoln, Cleveland, Roosevelt, and Wilson. It has been 
only at unimportant times and under weaker Presidents that 
the "separation of powers" has had full weight in government 
policy and control. 

There is a difference of view as to the scope of the Presi- 
dent's powers. One view is that he may do anything which 
the Constitution does not forbid. This would greatly enlarge 
his powers. Another view teaches that he may exercise no 
power which the Constitution does not specifically authorize. 
This view would greatly limit his powers. The latter is, 
perhaps, the more legal view, but it is less effective in 
enabhng the presidential office to assume leadership and to 
accomplish things.^ 

^ These two views of the presidential powers have been represented 
in recent years, to a large degree, the first by President Roosevelt, the 
second by President Taft. 



The 

Separation of 
Powers not 
Workable 



Two Views of 
the President's 
Powers 



236 



THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 



President and 
Congress 
should act 
together 



Term of the 
President 



The President is the national leader. The President and the 
party leaders in Congress should cooperate and work together. 
Government at Washington must be by "team work," as 
President Wilson expressed it. There must be leadership, 
and the President is the ofScial party leader. He will 
take counsel of many party chieftains and have respect for 
their views, and then, when he has determined upon a policy, 
his party in Congress should follow his leadership and support 
his measures. If they cannot do so and a break occurs between 
the President' and his party majority in Congress, it means 
a division or a split in the party, and all chance for a har- 
monious policy is lost until a new Congress or a new President 
is elected. The party in power is generally thought of as the 
party in control of the presidency, but the President is not 
"in power" unless he can lead or control Congress. When 
Congress and the President are "at outs" it would seem to be 
better if the people could "discharge" one of them and bring 
the two departments of the government into harmony so 
that some policy may be carried out without waiting until a 
term of ofl&ce expires. 

Term and Qualifications of the President 

Our Constitution fixes the President's term of service at 
four years. As far as the letter of the Constitution goes he may 
be reelected for as many terms as the people see fit to choose 
him. Ten of the Presidents have been elected for two terms, 
but so far no President has been elected for a third term, and 
it is now held by some that custom has fixed it as a "law of 
the unwritten constitution" that no one shall be President 
for three terms. 

It was proposed in the convention of 1787 to make the 
President's term seven years and not allow him to be reelected, 
and for over a hundred years the proposal has been repeatedly 
made, in Congress and party conventions, that the Presi- 
dent should be allowed only one term. Prominent men like 



THE PRESIDENT 



237 



ex-President Taft and Mr. W. J. Bryan urged a constitu- 
tional amendment extending the presidential term to six or 
seven years and not permitting a reelection. This is urged 
on the ground that presidential elections are too frequent, 
that they are too serious a disturbance to "business," that the 
President ought to have a longer term in order to enable him 
to carry through a continuous policy, and that if the President 
were not eligible to a second term he would not be tempted 
to use the power and patronage of his office to secure a re- 
election; it is claimed that the President's thought and time 
are occupied during his first term in considering not how 
he may make a good President, but how he may secure 
a second nomination, and that consequently he must do, 
not what the nation needs, but what the political managers 
require. However, the people have never been very seriously 
intent on limiting their power to reelect their President if 
they see fit. 

The Constitution requires that the President shall be "a 
natural born citizen of the United States," and shall have 
been for "fourteen years a resident within the United States," QuaUfications 
and that he shall " have attained to the age of thirty-five years." President 
The same qualifications hold in the case of the Vice President. 



Method of Electing the President 

It was very difficult for the convention of 1787 to agree 
upon a plan of electing the President. Various plans were 
proposed, but the convention finally decided to refer the 
choice of the President to a body of "electors" to be chosen 
in each State in such manner as the legislature of the State 
might direct, each State to have as many electors as it has 
senators and representatives in Congress. 

In early days they were, in some States, elected by the 
legislatures, in some by the people in congressional districts, 
in some by the people in the State at large. Now they are 
elected in each State on a common ticket, all candidates for 



How the 

Electors are 
Chosen 



238 THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 

electors on each party ticket in each State being voted for 
directly by the voters, generally under manhood suffrage,^ 
Congress has fixed upon the first Tuesday after the first Mon- 
day in November every fourth year as the time for choosing 
the electors in the various states. The election held on this 
day is popularly caUed the presidential election, as it is in 
effect. The voter, when he casts his ballot, is in reahty 
voting directly for the presidential candidate whose name is 
placed at the top of the ticket, and only incidentally does he 
vote for electors. The results are usually known by the 
following day. 

The electors from all the States make up the Electoral 
College. The electors do not all meet together to vote for 
The Electoral the President but meet in their respective State capitals on 
College ^Q second Monday in January following a presidential 

election and vote for President and Vice President sepa- 
rately. Three certificates of the result of the vote are 
then prepared, giving the names of all persons voted for 
as President and Vice President, respectively, and the 
number of votes for each. One of these certificates is de- 
posited with the United States District Court, a second 
mailed to the President of the Senate, and a third is sent 
to him by a special messenger (generally one of the electors) . 
On the second Wednesday in February the Senate and House 
meet in joint session, the President of the Senate opens the 
certificates and the count is begun. 

The election is virtually by states, as each state casts the 
whole number of its electoral votes for the candidate having 
the majority in the state. The candidates for President 
and Vice President having the vote of a majority of all the 
electors are declared elected. Except in the case of disputed 
returns the count is a mere form, since the result is ordi- 
narily known three months before. 

In case no candidate has a majority of all electoral votes 
1 For suffrage qualifications, see p. 10. 



BY THE PRSSIPEinr OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 
A PRCCLA^•ATIGK 



?/HEREAS putlic interests require that the Congress of the 
United States should be convened in extra session et twelve o'clock, 
noon, on the second day of April, 1917, to receive a communication 
concerning grave matterB of national policy which should be taken 
iamediately under conBideration; 

Kow, Therefore, I, WCODROW WILSOK, President of the United States 
of America, do hereby proclaim and declare that an extraordinary occa- 
sion requires the Congress of the united States to convene in extra 
session at the Capitol in the City of Washington on the secona day of 
April, 1S17, at twelve o'clock, noon, of which all persons who shall 
at that time be entitled to act as inemberB thereof are hereby required 
to take notice. 

"* Given under my hand and the 

seal of the United States of 



^ 




) America the twenty-first day of 
ISarch in the y«ar of our Lord one 
' thousand nine hundred and seven- 
teen, and of the Independence of 
the United States the one hundred 
and forty-first . 



By the President*—) 

>7. ' ■ ' 





A Presidential Proclamation 



THE PRESIDENT 239 

cast for President, the House of Representatives, voting by 
states, chooses a President from the three presidential candi- 
dates who have the largest number of electoral votes. If no 
one is elected Vice President, the Senate selects for that office 
one of the two vice presidential candidates who stood highest. 
The inauguration of the President and Vice President 
occurs on the fourth of March following the election. 

Advantages and Disadvantages of the Present Electoral 
System 

It was expected that these electors, composed of picked men 
wiser than the people, would know the qualities of public 
men and what kind of a man was required for the Presidency. 
The idea was that the electors meeting in their respective 
capitals would there deliberate and after discussing the relative How the 
merits of candidates they would then exercise their best judg- scheme has 
ments and cast their votes for the man they deemed best fitted broken down 
for the office. We know now that this is not the way the 
electoral system works. So again the Constitution is one thing 
written but another thing unwritten; that is, in theory it is 
one thing, in custom or actual practice, another. 

The written plan soon broke down when men, organized in 
parties, attempted to work it. As soon as parties were or- 
ganized and began to put out candidates for the presidency, 
the electors were no longer independent and free to vote for 
whom they pleased, but they were chosen under a pledge of 
honor to vote for a particular party candidate. They have 
become mere party agents without any discretiftn or choice as 
to v/hat they shall do. When they meet to vote the people 
have already chosen the President and everybody knows who 
is elected. Little or no attention is paid to the voting of the 
electors. They must vote as they are elected and pledged 
to vote, and it is understood that they will, as a matter of 
course, merely ratify the election already made. 



240 THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 

Under the present plan each State gives all its Presiden- 
tial electors to that party which wins the popular election 
in the State, no matter how small the majority may be. 
When a State elects its members of Congress it seldom hap- 
pens that one party carries all the districts. The vote of 
the State in Congress is divided between Republicans and 
Democrats. If electors were elected by the district plan, 
one for each district and the two senatorial electors for the 
State at large, the electoral vote of the State would nearly 
always be divided. The electoral vote would then more 
nearly represent the popular vote. 

The present plan of voting preserves the solidarity of the 
State and makes, it count more in the contest. By enabling 
it to throw its whole weight into one side of the scale the 
importance of the State is emphasized. The plan is not so 
democratic but more federal providing for election by States, 
which is in harmony with the original federal idea that the 
States should be the agencies for electing the President, though 
partly on a proportional basis. 

But experience has shown that this plan concentrates the 
political struggle in the doubtful States and especially in the 
large doubtful States, like New York and Indiana, while in 
other States where either party has a safe majority the presi- 
dential campaign is listless and lifeless and without interest. 
The consequence is that the voters in important doubtful 
States have been subjected to much political corruption. 
If some proportional plan were adopted by which the electoral 
vote of a State were divided between the parties in proportion 
to the populaf vote cast for each, then every vote would count 
in every State, and the Republicans would try harder in Texas 
in the hope of obtaining at least a few electoral votes, while 
the Democrats for the same reason would try harder in Iowa 
or Michigan. 

Another objection to the present electoral system is that the 
party managers merely maneuver to carry enough States to 



THE PRESIDENT 



241 



give them a majority of the electoral vote, while the popular 
vote in the whole country may be against them. It is not a 
democratic system. It has repeatedly occurred that a party 
candidate has received a majority of the electoral votes while 
the majority of the people have voted against him. In i860 
Lincoln had only about 40 per cent of the popular vote; 
in 1876 Tilden had a popular plurality over Hayes, though 
Hayes was elected, while in 1888 Cleveland had 98,000 popular 
plurality over Harrison but Harrison got sixty-five more 
votes than Cleveland in the Electoral College. 

It has been urged that the Electoral College should be 
abolished and a more popular democratic plan should be 
adopted for electing the President. It has been proposed 
that he should be elected by a direct popular vote of the 
whole country, just as the senators and representatives are 
now elected in the States. This would be a very nationalizing 
change, the people becoming a consolidated mass for the 
purpose of electing the President regardless of State lines. 

The district plan might be resorted to if it were not for the 
danger that party managers would be still further tempted 
to "gerrymander" the congressional districts.^ 



Should the 
Electoral 
College be 
abolished? 



Powers and Duties of the President 
There are several powers and duties assigned to the President; 
I. Purely Executive. These include his power and duty to 
"take care that all laws be faithfully executed," to ap- 
point subordinate executive ofhcers for this purpose, and to see 
that the executive departments are efficiently administered. 
These are his general executive powers. 

1 See p. 273. Also President Harrison's message of December, 1892, 
Richardson's President's Messages, Vol. IX, p. 208. On the subject 
of Proportional Representation see Professor J. R. Commons' book on 
that subject. Also John G. Carlisle in the Forum No. 24, p. 651, on 
"Remedy for Dangerous Defects in the Election of the President," and 
" Our Bungling Electoral System," by J. C. Allen in American Political 
Science Quarterly, November, 19 17. 



Classification 
of Presidential 
Powers 



242 THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 

2. Diplomatic. Under this head come the President's 
powers (i) to make treaties with the advice and consent of the 
senate and (2) to appoint ambassadors and consuls to foreign 
countries and to receive similar representatives from abroad. 
The President and his Secretary of State are held responsible 
for the conduct of foreign relations and the diplomacy of the 
country. In receiving a foreign ambassador at the White 
House ^ the President recognizes the ambassador as well as 
his country, the ambassador coming as the ofhcial spokesman 
of that country. The countries communicate through their 
ministers. The President may refuse to receive a minister, 
and this he will do if he does not wish to recognize the inde- 
pendence of the country concerned or the government which 
claims to be established there. He may also (by his Secretary 
of State) ask a foreign government to recall its minister or he 
may dismiss a minister for speech or conduct offensive to our 
government. 

3. Advisory. The President may recommend measures to 
Congress and inform that body on the "state of the Union" 
or on any public need. This he does by his regular annual 
messages to Congress, and by such special messages as he may 
see fit to send in from time to time. These messages are also 
intended as a means of informing and persuading the nation. 
The President's messages are printed and circulated freely. 

4. Legislative. The President is a part of the law-making 
power. The treaties which he helps to make are the "supreme 
law of the land." He can convene Congress in extraordinary 
session, and by the veto power he may prevent legislation by 
less than two-thirds majority in each house of Congress. This 
gives to the President a very great negative power in preventing 
legislation. 

5. Military. The President is the commander-in-chief 
of the army and navy and of the militia of the several States 
when called into the service of the United States. The Presi- 

1 The ambassador is introduced by our Secretary of State. 



THE PRESIDENT 243 

dent is authorized by law ^ to call forth the militia of the 
State in order to suppress insurrection or repel invasion and 
the President is to be the judge as to when the emergency 
exists. The nation through the President controls the State 
mihtia, though the States may train the mihtia and appoint 
its ofhcers. 

6. Judicial. The President may not be said to exercise 
judicial power, but he exercises power over the Judiciary. 
His ideas and purposes count for a good deal in our national 
judicial system. He has the power to appoint the Judges 
of the Supreme Court and of the inferior Federal courts, and 
in this way he may exercise a great deal of influence over the 
tendency of judicial decisions. 

By studying these six classes of powers it will be seen that 
many of the President's acts will fall into more than one of the 
classes named. They cannot be sharply separated or defined. 
To illustrate, when the President makes a treaty he exercises 
not only diplomatic power but legislative power, and when 
he appoints a judge he performs a purely executive act with a 
judicial bearing. Some of these powers of the President are 
of such importance as to call for special discussion. 

TJie Veto Power of the President 

Every bill or resolution of Congress, before it can become 
a law, must be submitted to the President for his approval. 
He is given ten days in which to consider it. If he approves The President's 

. . , . . Power over 

the measure he may sign it, or (although disapproving some Legislation 
features of it) he may allow it to become a law after ten days 
without his signature, as the Constitution provides. A 
President may be so displeased with a bill as not to wish to 
put his name to it and yet not be willing to take the respon- 
sibility of defeating it by a veto. President Cleveland did this 
in 1894 with the Wilson-Gorman tariff act. He denounced 

1 Act of February 28, 1795. 



244 THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 

as "party perfidy" the changes made in the act by certain 
senators, and he allowed the measure to become a law with- 
out his signature. 

If the President disapproves of the measure he may veto it 
or forbid it to become a law by returning the measure to the 
house in which it originated, giving in writing the reasons 
for his veto. Congress may then reconsider the bill and if 
passed by a two- thirds' vote in each house it becomes a law. 

If Congress adjourns within ten days after sending a bill 
to the President (Sundays excepted), he may withhold his 
signature and kill the bill entirely without giving his reasons 
to Congress. This is called a pocket veto, as the President 
is said to "put the bill in his pocket" without giving it 
further public notice. A "pocket veto" is an absolute veto, 
as Congress has no chance to reconsider and again pass the 
bill. After a "pocket veto " the only way to enact the measure 
into a law is to start a new bill in a later session of Congress, 
which the President may again have a chance to veto. 

The early Presidents used the veto very Kttle. Washington 
vetoed only two bills, and John Adams, Jefferson, and John 
Quincy Adams none at all. From Washington to Jackson 
only seven or eight bills were vetoed. Jackson marked an 
epoch in the use of the veto. As a rule, the earlier Presidents 
thought the veto power was given merely to protect the Con- 
stitution from violation and to prevent legislative encroach- 
ments on the office of President, to safeguard his own powers 
and independence. The early Presidents acted on this theory, 
but Jackson used the veto to defeat measures of which he did 
not approve, regardless of their constitutionality. If a measure 
appeared to him unwise and inexpedient he thought he should 
use his veto power to defeat it. As the " tribune of the people" 
he held that the President should share with Congress the 
responsibility for legislation. 

This use of the veto, together with the removal poHcy of 
Jackson (see p. 254), greatly increased the power of the Presi- 



THE PRESIDENT 



245 



dent, and Jackson's opponents, led by Clay and Webster, The veto 
denounced, his "usurpation" and called him "King Andrew." prllidenVs^ 
It became a principle of the Whig party to oppose this larger Power 
veto power. Clay proposed, in view of what he considered 
so much and such a dangerous power in the hands of one man, 
that the Constitution be changed so as to allow a bare majority 
of Congress to overcome the veto. The Whigs asserted that 
the will of the people should be uncontrolled by the will of 
one man. 

But Jackson's idea and use of the veto have prevailed under 
later Presidents of all parties. The President is looked upon 
as the representative of the people, and they expect him 
to exercise his independent judgment on every bill, holding 
him responsible for the bad effect of legislation which he 
might have prevented. It is considered to be not only the 
President's right but his duty to veto bills which he 
thinks are unconstitutional or which he thinks may be 
inexpedient, or injurious to the welfare of the country. This 
has made the veto a real power. ^ It does, indeed, put upon 
the President great responsibility. In preventing legislation The veto a 
it makes him equal in power to thirty-one senators and one America 
hundred and forty-four members of the House. ^ This is one 
of the powers that tend to magnify the President's ofSce and 
make him the leader of the people and the head of the nation. 
He is expected to guide the country and to save it from 
error and danger, and it should impress the people with the 
fact that no second rate or unsafe man should be entrusted 
with the great duties of the President's office. 

1 In England the theory of the veto is the same as in America, but the 
King, to whom this power is given by the letter of the law, never uses 
it. It is his bounden duty, by unwritten custom, to give his assent to 
every measure which passes Parliament, no matter how much he may 
personally disapprove of its provisions. This illustrates how our 
written constitution tends " to cleave to the letter of the law " while 
the English unwritten, or flexible, constitution tends "to depart from the 
letter of the law." See Bryce, American Commonwealth, vol. I, p. 60. 

'^ One less than a third. 



246 THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 

Treaty-making Power 

The President has the power, ''by and with the advice and 

consent of the senate, to make treaties, provided two thirds of 

the senators present concur."^ This is closely connected with 

How Treaties ]^jg powcr to appoint ambassadors and consuls. The President 

are Made ^ ^^ . . . . . , 

does not, as a rule, conduct the foreign negotiations directly, 
but he does it through his ambassadors or his Secretary of 
State, who is his minister for foreign affairs. He may instruct 
or direct these ofl&cers as to what they shall do, or agree to, 
or he may recall and remove them. A treaty is made under 
their direction by its being agreed to between the Secretary 
of State or our ambassador abroad and the representative of 
the other contracting nation; and then the President, if the 
terms of the treaty suit him, submits it for the senate's 
approval. If the senate consents, the treaty becomes the law 
of the land. If the treaty does not suit the President after 
it is drawn up, he may refuse to submit it to the senate, as 
Jefferson did in 1806 in the case of the Monroe-Pinkney 
treaty. 

The senate's "advice and consent" is not limited merely 
to saying Yes or No to a treaty after it is completed. The 
senate may advise the President to begin a treaty, or it may 
modify or amend a treaty while it is pending before that body. 
The initiative, however, in treaty-making generally rests 
with the President, and he is not bound to take the senate 
into his confidence during the process of a negotiation, though 
he may ask the advice of the senate while the treaty is in the 
making. So the senate may be said to be almost coordinate 
with the President in treaty-making. 

^ "Two thirds of the Senators present" may be a minority of the 
whole Senate; it may be only two-thirds of the quorum, a quorum being 
a majority of the whole Senate. It appears that if only a bare quorurti 
of the Senate were present the votes of thirty-four Senators might 
confirm a treaty, or the votes of eighteen Senators might reject one. 



THE PRESIDENT 



247 



This important power in treaty-making was given to the 
Senate because when the Constitution was made the States 
were particularly interested in foreign relations and they 
looked upon the government of the United States at the time 
as being chiefly a government for foreign affairs. The Senate 
was the body in which the States were especially represented, 
and the States, as such, did not wish to allow our foreign 
relations to pass beyond their control. 

In our relations with foreign countries it is desirable that 
the nation should be united, if possible, regardless of party. 
Since the senate can block negotiations while they are in 
progress or defeat a treaty after it is made, the President will 
naturally desire the favor and cooperation of the senatorial 
majority and especially of the senate's committee on foreign 
relations, whose chairman is always an important factor in 
the conduct of our foreign relations. The President will, 
while conducting important negotiations, seek to know the 
mind of the senate and to act in harmony with the leaders of 
both political parties, especially in times of a foreign crisis. 
The leaders and members of the opposition party are generally 
ready to support the President on an issue between a foreign 
country and our own. ^ 

The House is not considered to have a part of the treaty-mak- 
ing power. When a treaty is made the House is expected to 
provide for carrying it out. But if money is required or if the 
treaty involves a public policy to which the House is opposed 
or which is confided by the constitution to the whole body of 
Congress, the House has always asserted its right to defeat 
a treaty by refusing the money necessary to make it effective. 
Thus, when an act of legislation is necessary to carry out a 
treaty, the House does not regard the refusal to pass such an 

^ There is a familiar maxim, oilered as a toast by Commodore Decatur 
in 1 816, "Our country, in her intercourse with foreign nations may she ever 
be right, but our country, right or wrong." This may be debatable from 
a moral point of view. It has been changed to, " My country, if she 
is right may we keep her right, if wrong, may we set her right." 



The Powers 
of the House 
in Treaty- 
making 



248 THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 

act as a violation of the treaty, but it contends that as a co- 
ordinate branch of Congress it is competent to decide whether 
it will allow the treaty to fail or to be operative, and that it 
may thus prevent "the absorption of legislative powers by 
the treaty-making organ." The House contention is that the 
President and senate shall not be allowed by treaty-made 
law to leave the House out in regulating commerce or in doing 
' other things by mere treaty-law in matters in which the powers 
of the House are by the Constitution made equal to those of 
the senate. ^ 

The War Powers of the President 

The war powers of the President come to him from the 

fact that he is commander in chief of the Army and Navy of 

"^^^ the United States and because he is charged with the faithful 

President's . r ^ ^ rr-n t-. • i ^ ^ 

Power to bring cxccution oi the iaws. ihe President may not declare war; 

on a War ihaLt powcr belongs to Congress. But in times of crisis with 

a foreign country he may so act as to force Congress into 
war. President Polk in 1846 ordered General Taylor to 
occupy disputed territory. This brought on war and Con- 
gress merely recognized that war existed "by the act of the 
Republic of Mexico." When war comes the President, as 
commander in chief, must have the right to exercise all the 
powers recognized by the laws and usages of war. War "is 
executive business. It requires quick decision, energetic 
action, unity of responsibility and control. It cannot be 
carried on by a congress, or council, prone to disagreement, 
argument, and debate. 

In war the President falls but little short of being a dicta- 
tor. No man has yet defined his war powers or placed a limit 
on them. It has been said that in our Civil War President 
Lincoln exercised more personal power than any English- 

^ This subject was discussed fully in connection with Jay's treaty 
and the Alaska treaty. See Woodburn's American Republic, pp. 
159-164. See Edwin S. Corwin's "The President's Control of Foreign 
Relations" (Princeton Press). 



THE PRESIDENT 249 

speaking ruler since Oliver Cromwell. When military law 
succeeds civil law the President becomes absolute. He is re- 
strained only by the laws and usages of civilized warfare. In ^^® ^" ^°^" 

■' ■' ° ers of the 

1 86 1, without waiting for Congress to meet, President President 
Lincoln called for 75,000 volunteers, proclaimed a blockade of 
the Southern ports, increased the size of the regular army, 
suspended the writ of habaes corpus in spite of the protest of 
Chief Justice Taney (see p. 251), and later in the war he 
appointed and removed generals, directed the movements of 
fleets and armies, executed or pardoned criminals, arrested 
and imprisoned men without trial, and, finally, exercised the 
great power (which existed only in war) of declaring free 
by his famous emancipation proclamation all the slaves 
in the insurrectionary States. These acts, even if not after- 
wards recognized as lawful by Congress or the courts, were 
effective just the same. 

Congress either confides extraordinary war powers to the 
President beforehand or confirms such powers after their ex- 
ercise. In the World War President Wilson was given 
power to control transportation and foreign trade; to deter- 
mine the price of food and fuel and other necessaries; to 
decide what grain, if any, might be distilled into liquors; to 
fix the price of steel and iron and iron ore, and of supplies 
and munitions bought in America for our Allies; to comman- 
deer mines and railways, ships and shipyards, and to regulate 
the method of production, sale, shipment, apportionment and 
storage of all products necessary for the conduct of the war 
and the life of the people. This vast war power in the hands 
of one man may be a dangerous thing. All power may be 
abused if placed in unworthy hands. The only safeguard of 
the nation in such a crisis is the character of the man who 
fills the presidential office. Fortunate for America that, when 
the necessity has come, these war powers have fallen into the 
hands of patriot Presidents who have been devoted to liberty, 
democracy, and the rights and interests of the people. 



250 



THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 



Whose 
Function is it 
to suspend 
the Writ? 



Our Presidents have been the products of American life 
and principles. If a Napoleon instead of a Lincoln had 
been President at the close of the Civil War, in absolute 
control of more than a million armed men, there might have 
been usurpation and tyranny, but as it was, under a wise 
and liberty-loving ruler, the vast army was not misused to 
promote the ambition and power of a personal ruler. The 
laws were respected and the citizen-soldiers were soon again 
engaged in the vocations of peace. Our small standing 
army of about 25,000 men resumed its usual function of 
keeping a few mihtary posts and guarding the frontier. 

Power to Suspend the Writ of Habeas Corpus 

An innocent person may be charged with crime and may be 
arrested and imprisoned. The writ of habeas corpus (you 
may have the body) is the means by which he obtains release 
from such illegal arrest and imprisonment. He applies 
through his agent or attorney to the judge of a court, who 
issues an order, or writ, ordering the sheriff or constable who 
has the prisoner in charge to bring him into court in order that 
it may be ascertained whether there is good reason for keeping 
him in prison. If it appears that the prisoner has not been 
guilty of violating the law, the judge orders his release. In 
this way justice is not denied or delayed. To suspend the writ 
is to deny to an imprisoned citizen the right, or privilege, of 
having the charges against him examined into, and it might 
permit those in ofhce to exercise arbitrary and despotic power 
and to practice injustice and oppression. 

The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus is a "guarantee 
of personal liberty as old as Magna Charta" (12 15). The 
Constitution says this privilege "shall not be suspended unless 
when, in cases of rebellion or invasion, the public safety may 
require it." This leaves unsettled the question whether the 
power of suspending the writ is to be exercised by the President 
or by Congress. In England it was always held to be a Parha- 



THE PRESIDENT 



251 



mentary power, not a royal power. Jefferson refused to exer- 
cise it and referred the matter to Congress when occasion arose 
in the case of the Burr conspiracy. 

The clause referring to the power is in that part of the 
Constitution (Article i, Section 9) which deals with the 
legislative and not with the executive powers. This seems 
to indicate that the framers of the Constitution intended 
that Congress and not the President should decide the matter; 
and in 1861, when President Lincoln had suspended the writ 
in the case of a political prisoner confined in Fort McHenry, 
in Baltimore, Chief Justice Taney decided that the power did 
not belong to the President. The Chief Justice issued a writ 
ordering the constable to bring the body of the prisoner 
(Merryman) into his court, — so that the Justice might inquire 
into the lawfulness of his detention, but Gen. Cadwalader, 
in command at Fort McHenry, refused to respect the writ, 
saying that he was acting under the orders of the President. 
The order, or attachment, of the Justice could not be executed 
' by a constable or sheriff with a posse comitatus ^ against the 
superior military force of the General, and the Chief Justice 
was powerless to release the prisoner. All that he could do 
was to write to the President protesting against presidential 
usurpation and declaring that a military government had been 
substituted for the government of the Constitution. Chief 
Justice Taney called upon President Lincoln to respect his 
oath of office, to observe the constitution and to execute the 
law. The President refused to respect the law as the chief 
Justice had expounded it; he acted upon his own judgment 
and the advice of his Attorney General, and maintained his 
power. 

So, while judicial opinion has favored Congressional exercise 
of this power the actual facts of our history in war have 

^ Posse, to be able; comitatus a country. Hence, the power of the 
the country; usually those inhabitants summoned by the sheriflf to assist 
in preserving the public peace. 



Conflict 
between 
President 
Lincoln and 
Chief Justice 
Taney 



252 THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 

favored the President's use of the power, and it is safe to say 
that under similar circumstances the President would exercise 
it again despite judicial opinion. The facts govern rather than 
the theory. It is a power which from its nature requires quick, 
decisive action of an executive character. Congress after- 
wards confirmed President Lincoln's action as a means of 
removing all doubt as to its legality.^ 

In the hands of an ambitious and unscrupulous man this is 
a dangerous power and it may lead to usurpation and military 
autocracy. The privilege of this writ of habeas corpus has been 
one of the great objects of conflict in all the constitutional 
struggles of the past. To suspend it is to suspend civil liberty 
and to do away for a time with all civil rights. It may be 
necessary, for in times of war and insurrection civil procedure 
is impossible. The courts would become blocked with the 
cases, and the more drastic summary process of military 
restraint must be employed to restore order. It is only the 
stern necessity of self-preservation that can justify the vesting 
in one man of this supreme power, and it should be understood 
that in doing so — in abandoning the habeas corpus and a civil 
trial — ■ the nation, as Blackstone expresses it, is merely 
consenting "to part with its liberty for a while in order to 
preserve it forever." Only such an end can justify such means. 

Power of Appointment and Removal 

In time of peace the appointing power probably gives 
the President more real political influence than any other 
function conferred upon him. If he is to execute the laws he 
must be able to select and control the persons by whom this 

1 See the Merryman Case, Thayer's Cases in Constitutional Law, 
Vol.11, p. 2374. McPherson's History of the Rebellion, p. 155. Wood- 
burn's American Republic, pp. 179-180. "The Constitution in War 
Time" by Henry J. Ford in Atlantic Monthly, October, 191 7. Also an 
Address before the American Bar Association, by Hon. Charles E. Hughes, 
former Justice of the Supreme Court, Senate Document 105, (191 7). 



THE PRESIDENT 



253 



is to be done. The influence of the senate over appoint- 
ments is discussed elsewhere (see p. 264). Congress may by 
law specify certain qualifications for appointees, determine 
the terms on which they may hold office (their tenure) and 
provisions for their promotion. The growth of the country -^^^ 
and the great increase in governmental functions have led power 
to the existence of a vast army of appointive offices under 
the Federal Government, and although the merit system and 
the classified service (see p. 60) have relieved the President of 
much of the burden and responsibility in appointments, yet so 
many important appointments are still dependent upon him 
that he may, if he chooses, exercise a tremendous political 
power by using these offices for party purposes or in build- 
ing up a personal or party machine. It was not expected 
in 1787 that a President would be at all governed by a 
party motive in making appointments, and Madison said a 
President would be subject to impeachment if he should act 
so. But our party history has brought such motives into use 
and many of the presidential appointments are still deter- 
mined by political or party considerations rather than by 
the public need. 

The power of appointment has carried with it the power of 
removal. The senate's consent being necessary to appoint- 
ment, should it not also be necessary to removal? This has 
been greatly debated at various times in our history. Hamil- 
ton and Madison in the Federalist ^ differed on the question in 
1788, Hamilton insisting that the senate's consent should be 
deemed essential to any removal by the President. He 
wanted fixed tenure and strong stable government and he 
would allow the senate to have a chance to restrain the 

^ A collection of essays which are now published under the title 
of "The Federalist." These essays, eighty- five in number, were de- 
signed especially to gain supporters to the new constitution. They 
were written by Madison, Hamilton, and Jay. Even at this day 
"The Federalist" remains the greatest commentary upon the consti- 
tution ever written ' 



The Power of 
Removal 



254 THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 

President before changes could be made. Madison insisted 
that a removal was so clearly an executive act that the 
President could not fairly be held responsible for execut- 
ing the laws unless he could control his subordinates and 
assistants, removing them if necessary, and putting more 
faithful officers in their places to carry out his orders. His 
view prevailed. 

In 1829 the question again came up, Webster, Calhoun, and 
Clay objecting to Jackson's wholesale removals in using 
the ofl5ces for party spoils; but Jackson's power was sustained. 
Again in 1867, when there was a fierce quarrel between Congress 
and President Johnson, Congress attempted, by the Tenure of 

The Tenure of Officc Act, to restrain the President in his power of removal. 

Office Act 'pj^g a.ct provided that while the senate was not in session 

the President might suspend a subordinate and appoint some 
one else ad interim, but when the senate met again the Presi- 
dent should give to the senate his reasons for the suspension 
of the officer. If the senate voted that these reasons were 
' good the suspension was to be deemed valid and the newly 
appointed officer was to hold the place. But if the senate 
did not deem the reasons for removal to be good, then the 
ad interim appointment was to fall and the old officer who had 
been suspended was to be restored to his place. 

This Tenure of Office Act was never tested in the courts, and 
if it had been it would hkely have been declared unconstitu- 
tional. It was for resisting it, chiefly in removing Secretary 
Stanton, that President Johnson was impeached. After the 
Congressional party had elected a new President (Grant) 
and harmony was restored between the two departments 
of the Government, the greater part of the act was repealed 
and the last remnants of it were repealed under President 
Cleveland, who stood up stoutly for his independent pre- 
rogative in removals. So it may be said that, both by law 
and history, the President has a free hand in removals. 



THE PRESIDENT 255 



Power to Protect the States 

The United States is bound by the Constitution to guarantee 
to each State (a) a repubhcan form of government, and (b) 
protection against invasion and domestic violence. ^ This is 
called the guarantee clause, and under it, in certain circum- "^^^ 

° . ' . . . Guarantee 

stances, the United States may use its power withm a clause 
State to preserve order or to settle differences between rival 
governments. The President's action "against domestic 
violence" is to occur only when the legislature or the ex- 
ecutive of the State asks aid of the national Government. 

The Supreme Court has decided that when Congress 
admits members of Congress from a State to their seats, the 
authority of the State government under which they are 
elected is recognized as "republican" and this decision is 
binding on other departments of the Government.^ The 
Supreme Court has lately refused to interfere by upsetting 
the Oregon system of government as un-republican. Such 
interference is a political matter to be decided upon by the 
political branch of the Government. 

In a case of "domestic violence" the legislature of a State, 
or its Governor (if the legislature is not in session), applies 
to the President if help is needed, as by the act of February 
28, 179s, the duty of fulfilling this guarantee was placed upon 
the Executive. The President is not bound to wait for an 
application from a State authority before he intervenes. If 
a domestic insurrection or riot within a State interrupts the 
operations of the functions of the United States Government 
or is causing the violation of United States law, the President 
may intervene even against the protest of the State authority. 
The President must decide when the emergency exists. A 

1 Constitution, Article 4, Section 4. 

2 See the famous case of Luther vs. Borden, and the account of Dorr's 
Rebellion in Rhode Island, 1842. Thayer's Cases Decided in 1848, 
Woodburn's American Republic, p. 173. 



256 THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 

notable instance of this is seen in President Cleveland's action 
in the great railway strikes in Chicago in 1894, in which he 
interfered by sending United States troops to enable Federal 
authorities to enforce the United States postal laws and the 
Inter-state Commerce Act. 

The President must "take care that the laws be faithfully 
executed," and the execution of the national law must not be 
left to depend upon the disposition or capacity of a State or 
its ofhcers. The States have always been able and willing, 
as a rule, to enforce the law and preserve order within their 
borders and to cooperate rather than to obstruct in the enforce- 
ment of national law. It was the spirit and purpose of the 
Constitution to provide for Federal aid only when the State 
called for it. In 1787 it was deemed dangerous to liberty 
and to the independence of the States and altogether too 
nationalistic to confer upon a Federal officer the power to 
"invade a State" at his own behest, on the plea of enforcing 
law and preserving order. It is the State's business to quell 
riots and preserve order and it is still the law of the Con- 
stitution that Federal interference shall occur only at the re- 
quest of the State. But in the rare case of conflict between the 
two authorities the State must give way, — unless public 
opinion and the national sentiment should sustain its con- 
tention. The principle is that "law and order" must be 
preserved and that for this purpose "behind the city stands 
the State and behind the State stands the nation." 

TOPICS AND QUERIES 

1. Debate: "Resolved that the English ministerial system of govern- 

ment is better than the American presidential system." 

2. Why did the Americans not adopt the English system? Would 

it be possible to adopt it now in any of the States without chang- 
ing the United States Constitution? Why? 

3. Show how the President's powers have grown under our system. 

Why has this happened? Is the President separate from Con- 
gress? Or does he lead Congress? Ought he to be merely an 
executive to administer the law, or a leader in determining what 



THE PRESIDENT I^J 

laws should be made? What were the intentions of the framers of 
the Constitution on this point? What policy does President 
Wilson pursue in this respect? How have the greater number of 
Presidents acted? Consult current periodicals for articles on 
the President's office and its powers. 

4. Why after every presidential election are proposals made to change 

the method of electing the President? What better method is 
proposed? What reasons now exist for a change which did not 
exist when the Constitution was made? 

5. Show how a candidate for President may receive a majority of the 

popular vote and yet fail of election. Is this right? Why? 
What advantage, or disadvantage, would result from allowing the 
popular vote to decide? 

6. How few votes in California might have changed the result of the 

election in 1916? Significance of this. 

REFERENCES 

Ashley, Roscoe L. The American Federal State, Chap. XIV, pp. 284-302, 
Beard, Charles A. American Government and Politics, Chap. X, 

pp. 187-214. 
Beard, Charles A. Readings in American Government and Politics, 

Chap. X on the " Powers of the President." 
Bryce, James. The American Commonwealth, Vol. I, Chaps. V, VI, 

pp. 38-68. 
Finley, John H. and Sanderson. The American Executive. 
Harrison, Benjamin. This Country of Ours. Chap. IV, pp. 68-180. 
Hart, A. B. Actual Government, Chap. XV, pp. 258-275. 
Hinsdale, B. A. The American Government, Chaps. XXVIII-XXXII, 

pp. 248-283. 
Macy, Jesse, and Gannaway, John W. Comparative Free Government, 

Chaps. IV-VII, pp. 31-79. 
Moran, T. F. The Theory and Practice of the English Government. 
Wilson, Woodrow. Constitutional Government in the United States. 
Woodburn, James A. The American Republic and its Government, 

Chap. Ill, pp. 94-194. 
Young, James T. The New American Government, Chap. II, pp.. 10-41 
Use Hart and McLaughlin's Cyclopedia of American Government, on the 

topics of the chapter. 



Term 



CHAPTER XIV 
THE SENATE 

The Senate of the United States consists of ninety-six 

members, two from each of the forty-eight States. A Senator 

is required (a) to be thirty years of age, (b) to have been nine 

Composition of yg^^j-g ^^ citizen of the United States, (c) to be at the time of 

the Senate: "^ . . ' ^ ^ 

Qualifications his election an inhabitant of that State for which he is chosen. 

of Senators During his term of office no senator can hold any other office 
under the United States. 

The term of the senator is for six years. Senators may be 
reelected for any number of terms and many of the States 
continue their senators for a long period of years. Many 
of the present senators have been in the Senate for twenty 
years and in the past some have served for over thirty years. 
This makes the Senate an older and more conservative body 
than the House. 

The reelection of a senator is the rule rather than the 
exception as long as his party holds pohtical control of his 
State. It is rather the other way in the House, especially 
in some parts of the country. If a representative has been 
elected for six or eight years it is thought "he ought to pass the 
office around and give others a chance." By changing its 
delegation frequently a State loses weight and influence in 
Congress, as it takes a new member some time to learn the 
ways of the Congress and to come to wield a large influence. 
This partly accounts for the Senate's wielding a more effective 
influence on legislation than the House (see p. 269). 

Senators are now elected by the people of their respective 
States by a direct popular vote. They are nominated by their 

258 



Method 
of Election 



THE SENATE 



259 



parties either in primaries or in State conventions, just as 
the candidate for Governor and the other candidates on the 
State ticket are nominated, the candidate for senator being 
regarded as the head of the State ticket. The original Con- 
stitution provided that the senators should be elected by the 
State legislatures, and it was not until 1913 that the change 
was brought about by the Seventeenth Amendment. 

The Vice President of the United States is the presiding 
officer of the Senate. He may vote in case of a tie. He is 
not a member of the Senate and he may, therefore, claim no 
vote except to break a tie. The Senate may choose, along The President 

. , . 1 rr- -1 -^ _ ' . , '^ of the Senate 

With its other oincers, a president pro tempore, who presides 
in the absence of the Vice President or if the latter should 
become President of the United States. The Senate's presi- 
dent pro tern is a member of the Senate and he may claim 
a vote on any question that may arise, but, having voted once, 
he cannot, of course, vote again even in case of a tie. 

Character op the Senate as a Legislative Body 

When the Senate was first organized its members were 
divided into three classes: The terms of the first class expired 
in two years, of the second in four, of the third in six; after 
that all terms were for six years. By this arrangement 
(provided for in the Constitution) the Senate was made a 
continuous, or permanent body. It also provides that the 
two senators from a State never come up for reelection at 
the same time.^ 

In every Congress two thirds of the senators were in the 
preceding Congress. Not more than one third of the Senate 
can be changed at any election, and it seldom happens that as 
many as a third are changed every two years. So while the 
Senate may undergo an " unceasing process of gradual renewal" 
and "be always changing, it is forever the same." This adds 
to the dignity and weight of the Senate in national affairs 
1 Unless a death or resignation should occur. 



Classes of 
Senators: 
Permanent 
Character of 
the Senate 



26o 



THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 



(see p. 269). It also qualifies the Senate to participate in 
conducting the foreign affairs of the nation where continuity 
of policy is needed. 

In its origin the Senate was made up with a view to pre- 
serving the federal character of our government, — that is, 
a government by States. In the Constitutional Convention 
of 1787 there were two parties of opinion, or two dispositions 
toward the States: one wished to consider them as geographical 
districts of people, all together making up one political society; 
the other would preserve the States as so many distinct political 
societies. The fact was each State was a distinct political 
society and had been so in colonial times, and very few were 
willing to merge their States into one mass to become a con- 
solidated continental people. Still the large State leaders 
insisted that "authority should be derived not from the States 
but from the people and that equal numbers of people should 
have an equal number of representatives and different num- 
bers of people different numbers of representatives." ^ The 
history of the convention of 1787 shows how these two ideas 
were combined, that "in one branch the people ought to be 
represented, in the other the States." ^ So the House was 
made national in its representative character while the Senate 
was made Federal, to make it a body representing the States 
as separate and equal political communities. In the Senate 
the States are equal, in the sense of having equal rights and 
equal power. 

Of course this is quite undemocratic. From a purely demo- 
cratic point of view it is quite absurd that a population of 
100,000 in one state should have as much power as ten million 
people in another; that little Delaware, hardly larger than 
two good sized counties, should have equal weight in making 
the laws with the great State of Pennsylvania. It is as if a 
gingle rural county in Illinois were given as much power in 

^ Wilson of Pennsylvania in the Convention. 
? Pr, Johnson of Connecticut in the Convention, 



THE SENATE 26 1 

making laws for that State as the whole city of Chicago. 
One may think this very unreasonable and unfair, but we 
must remember that is the way that our Constitution was 
made. Our fathers did not wish to form a purely democratic 
consolidated government. They formed, in part, a federal 
government, not a government of the people of the United 
States en masse, but a government of the people in States. 

Hamilton set forth five purposes for the creation of the 
Senate which it may be well to summarize here: 

1. To conciliate the spirit of independence in the States by Orig^^i 

'■ "■ Purposes of 

equal representation. the Senate 

2. To create a council qualified to advise and check the 
President in appointments and treaties. 

3. To restrain the House, guarding against passion and 
sudden changes in the people. 

4. To provide a body of stability, character and continuity 
in policy, composed of men of larger experience, of longer 
terms, and more independent of popular election. 

5. To establish a court for impeachment. 

Powers of the Senate 

Three classes of powers are exercised by the Senate: 
I. Legislative. 2. Executive. 3. Judicial. 

Legislative Powers 

As a legislative body the Senate is coordinate with the 
House. Its consent is necessary to the passage of any bill 
before it can become a law. It has all the legislative power 
the House has except that it may not originate a revenue bill. 
This exception amounts to nothing since the Senate may 
amend a revenue bill (tariff bills, etc.) coming up from the 
House and thus be just as influential as the House in determin- 
ing its final form. The Senate has at various times put on 
from three hundred to eight hundred amendments to tariff 
biUs that have had to originate in the House (see p. 297). 



262 THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 

In earlier days it was claimed that, acting through its 

legislature, a State had a right to instruct its senators in 

Instruction of Congress how they should vote and that the senators should 

Senators . . 

feel bound to obey these instructions. This was held to be 
so especially because the legislature elected the senators, and 
because the senators were looked upon as somewhat in the 
character of diplomatic representatives to another government 
who should, of course, be bound by instructions from their 
"home government." At times during our history instruc- 
tions have been so given and obeyed. At other times senators 
have refused to be so bound and there was no way to control 
their action. Public opinion came to accept the idea of 
representation that the representative should be left free to 
vote and act on his own conscience and judgment. A legis- 
lature may change its political complexion during a senatorial 
term and partisan instructions imposed upon a senator of the 
opposite party would hardly be effective. Now that the 
legislatures have ceased to elect the senators there is still 
less reason for exercising instructions and no practicable 
way of doing it. A State legislature or a party State conven- 
tion might request the senators of the State to vote a certain 
way, and such a request would not be lightly regarded. But 
a senator's vote is his own to be cast according to his own good 
sense and conscience. As a matter of course he will always 
be influenced in casting it by the public sentiment in his State 
when he has reliable ways of learning what that sentiment is. 

Executive Powers 

Originally it was supposed that the chief business of the 

Senate would be executive. Its legislative powers were not 

considered of as much importance as its executive powers. 

The Senate as -pj^g Senate was to be a small body, of twenty-six members 

an Executive \ -r\ • ^ 1 \.- 

Councu at first, not much more numerous than a President s cabinet. 

It was expected that they might frequently sit with the Presi- 
dent to consider appointments, treaties, and other executive 



THE SENATE 



263 



matters. The senators were to be like ambassadors from 
the States and it was thought that the foreign relations of the 
country and giving executive advice would be their chief 
concern. The Senate was designed to be a moderating body 
between the two branches of the national Government, 
advising and helping to control the executive on the one hand 
and checking the legislative branch (the House) on the other. 
So far as legislation was concerned it was expected that the 
Senate would merely revise, or check, legislation, like the 
House of Lords in England or the Governor's Council in the 
colonies, but it was not to be equal to the House in deter- 
mining the policy and merits of new laws. It was supposed 
that public policy and legislation would be determined by the 
House and that if a bill passed the House, it would, as a matter 
of course, pass the Senate unless it was plainly unconstitu- 
tional or flagrantly opposed to the public interest. 

" In the earlier years the rising intellects and ambitious 
young men of the country sought the arena of the House as 
the best place to display their political talents. Mr. Madison 
observed on one occasion that, being a young man and desiring 
to increase his reputation, he could not afford to enter the 
Senate; and it will be remembered that, so late as 1S12, the 
great debates which preceded the war and aroused the country 
to the assertion of its rights took place in the other branch of 
Congress." ^ 

The changes of a hundred years have brought it about that 
the Senate has become not only in all respects coordinate, but 
in many ways a more powerful body in legislation than the Growing 

1 • 1 • 1 • -1 1 • n Importance of 

House, it has mcreased its legislative weight and influence the Senate 
while losing none of its control over the executive powers of the 
nation. So our upper house, the Senate, has become one of the 
most important and powerful legislative chambers in the world. 



^ Vice President Breckenridge to the Senate on their leaving the old 
chamber for the new, January 4, 1859. Congressional Globe, 1858-9, Part 
I, p. 203. 



The Executive 
Session 



264 THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 

The changes of a hundred years have been exactly in the 
other direction in England. There the House of Lords, 
which was quite powerful a century ago, has had its powers 
reduced until it is now quite impotent even to check or 
prevent legislation by the Commons against a persistent 
majority in the latter body. There are a number of such 
instances and differences which go to show that the English 
Government is much more democratic, in some respects, than 
the American." 

In its executive functions the senate may {a) participate 
in the treaty-making power; (b) participate in the appointing 
power. 

Treaties made by the President, before they can become 
the law of the land, must be confirmed by the Senate, by a 
two-thirds vote of the senators present. A quorum must be 
present for the transaction of business.^ A majority vote 
of the Senate is sufficient to confirm appointments. 

The Senate goes into executive session to consider treaties and 
appointments. This is a secret session, a revival of an early 
practice.^ When the Senate goes into executive session the 
galleries are cleared, the doors are closed, and the obligation 
of secrecy is imposed upon the senators. No sessions of the 
Senate are of more interest to the public than the executive 
sessions. 

It is useless, if not harmful, to try to preserve the secrecy 
of the executive session. It is better to have all govern- 
mental discussions and actions in the open, as the people 
have a right to know what their representatives say and do. 
It has been contended that matters of grave moment in inter- 

1 For the process of treaty-making see pp. 246-247. 

' For the first five years of the Senate's history (till 1 794) all the ses- 
sions of the Senate were held in secret. The sessions of the Constitu- 
tional Convention of 1787 were held in secret. It was felt that the people 
ought not to be allowed to learn what was being said and done, as pub- 
lic agitations might interfere with the deliberations, or the delegates 
might be too much influenced by popular clamor. 



THE SENATE 265 

national relations and diplomacy cannot be considered with 
dignity and safety in public. On the other hand it is widely 
believed that many of the unbecoming national ambitions, 
aggressions, quarrels, and wars might have been restrained 
and prevented if the negotiations and decisions of diplomats 
had been carried on in public. Rulers should be responsible 
to public opinion in international affairs as well as in domestic 
affairs. 

The courtesy of the Senate refers to the mutual support and 
privileges the senators accord to one another, especially in 
the matter of confirming or rejecting appointments. This 
courtesy comes from the habitual desire of the senators to 
favor one another where their personal interests are concerned. 

The chief application of senatorial courtesy is found in the 
support senators give to one another in order to control ex- 
ecutive appointments. When the Constitution gave to the Senatorial 

Courtesy and 

President the power to make appointments it was understood Appointments 

that he should decide who was to be appointed; the Senate 

should check him only when unfit men were named for ofl&ce. 

It was not intended that senators should dictate appointments 

or even recommend men for places. The President now has 

a free hand only in choosing his cabinet, for the practice 

soon arose in the Senate of rejecting other nominees of the 

President on any ground the Senate might choose, for personal 

or party reasons or merely to spite the President. Then the 

senators began to claim for themselves the right to control 

appointments and removals within their respective States. 

It came to pass that when the President came to appoint 
men to ofl&ce, in Virginia, for instance, the senators from 
that State, if the President had not consulted them or acted 
in harmony with their wishes in the matter, were allowed by 
the "courtesy" of the other senators to decide whether the 
appointments should be rejected. If the senator from Vir- 
ginia, interested in the control of this patronage for the sake 
of his political supporters, advised rejection his colleagues, 



266 THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 

remembering that they might sometime wish the return of 
the "courtesy," rejected the President's nominations. The 
senators standing together in this way can put pressure upon 
the President. They insist that before making a nomination 
to an office in any State, the President shall consult his party 
friends and leaders in that State, usually the party senators 
and representatives, and be guided by their wishes. "You 
help me to control the appointments in my State and I will 
help you to control the appointments in your State," — a 
sort of log-rolling ^ process. 

This has led to serious abuses until "senatorial courtesy" 
has become a reproach. It has now come to pass that 
the senators and representatives distribute the executive 
offices. Their time and energy are largely taken up by 
trying to satisfy applicants for office. By these ap- 
pointments, they build up personal political machines within 
their States; and what was originally a purely executive power 
has been surrendered to, or has been usurped by, members 
of the national legislature. If the President resists or refuses 
to be guided by this senatorial control, he runs the risk of 
having his nominations rejected, his administration embar- 
rassed, and his renomination opposed and defeated. The 
President prefers to consult the senators and representatives, 
and, so far as seems reasonable, to comply with their wishes, 
in order to preserve and promote party harmony. This 
cooperation between a party president and party legislators 
is a part of our party system or custom which has gradually 

1 In early pioneer days when the settlers were making a "clearing" 
and were felling the trees and rolling the logs to the stream to float 
them to the sawmill, or were rolling them in a heap to be burned to 
get them out of the way, the neighbors helped one another in turn. 
The work was too heavy for the men of a single household; so " you 
help me roll my logs and I'll help you roll yours" became the custom. 
Unfortunately this principle has been applied to legislation. 

See the famous case of early log-rolling between Hamilton and 
Jefferson in the location of the national capital in 1790. 



THE SENATE 267 

grown up in the country, and it is contended that the President 
must not break down senatorial political machines or weaken 
the party organization within a State by an independent use 
of the Federal patronage. 

This "courtesy of the Senate" and party practice has 
a direct connection with the spoils system, that is, the use of 
the Federal offices for party rewards in return for party work 
(see p. 60). The State is regarded as the political domain 
of the Senator, like a fief under the feudal system, and his 
political underlords, or workers, must be selected by himself 
and he must have offices with which to reward them. The 
appointees must be his men, and they must work for him, 
either to secure his renomination, or, if the senator be a 
candidate for President, to help in securing the appointment 
of the right kind of delegates to the national convention.^ 

It must in fairness be remembered, however, that Senators 
and members of Congress usually know candidates for office 
in their states better than the President possibly can, and it 
is convenient for him to consult these pubhc representatives. 
The custom is a natural growth in politics. 

Judicial Powers: Impeachment 

The Senate has the sole power to try impeachments. The 
House, through its proper committee, brings the charges. 
The President, Vice President, and all "civil officers" of the 
United States are subject to impeachment and mav be re- Who may be 

II- rr • • r i 'i Impeached? 

moved from office upon conviction of treason, bribery, or Penalty 
"other high crimes and misdemeanors." "High crimes and 
misdemeanors" is an elastic term and might be made to 
cover many lines of misconduct, but it has been held to mean 
not political misconduct or pursuing a public policy which 
may be deemed to be harmful, but some violation by an officer 
of the Constitution of his oath of office, or the committing of 
some act which is a crime by law. 

1 See Woodburn's " Political Parties," p. 229. 



268 



THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 



The Senate 

and 

Lnpeacbment 



Who are 

"CivU 
Officers " 



When the President is tried on impeachment the Chief 
Justice presides, but in ordinary impeachment trials, the 
Vice President or the President pro tempore of the Senate 
presides. The trial occurs before the Senate, the process 
resembling that of a trial by jury. The House appoints a 
committee of members to prosecute the charges before the 
Senate; the accused is entitled to counsel and to full oppor- 
tunity to present his defense; witnesses are examined; and 
the Senate then dehberates in secret session while arriving 
at a decision. A two-thirds vote is necessary to conviction, 
and in case of conviction no further penalty can be imposed 
than removal from office and disqualification to hold any 
office of honor, trust, or profit under the United States; but 
the officer convicted may, however, be liable to indictment, 
trial, and punishment for his offense in a court of law. 

Under the impeachment court as now established it is the 
understanding (understandings are a part of the unwritten 
law) that the senators are on their oath to act, not from any 
political or party bias, but entirely in a judicial capacity, as 
impartial judges, and experience has shown that the Senate 
may be trusted to act in this way. In the celebrated im- 
peachment trial of President Johnson in 1868 seven RepubU- 
can senators voted, not for conviction, as party spirit was 
urging them to do, but for acquittal, as they judged the law 
and the evidence demanded. They received severe party 
censure at the time, but have been highly commended since 
for their judicial and constitutional course. 

The Constitution says, as we have seen, the President, Vice 
President, and " civil officers of the United States " are impeach- 
able. Who are "civil officers of the United States"? The 
word "civil" is here used in contradistinction to "military"; 
consequently officers of the army and navy are exempt from 
impeachment. The military and naval officers are liable to 
trial and punishment under martial law. It has been held that 
senators and representatives are not "civil officers of the 



THE SENATE 269 

United States" and are, therefore, not impeachable. They 
are regarded as officers of the States, or representatives of 
the people. Officers of the United States are those included 
in the executive departments of the Government and those 
under executive appointment, such as the judges of the United 
States courts. The penalty for misconduct on the part of a 
member of Congress is not impeachment but censure or 
expulsion. In 1798 Senator Blount of Tennessee was expelled 
from the Senate while his impeachment was pending. He 
then pleaded that the Senate had no jurisdiction, and this 
plea was sustained by the Senate and the impeachment case 
was dismissed. This merely decided that a senator who 
had been expelled was not subject to impeachment. But it 
is held that to impeach a legislative officer for his official 
acts "is repugnant to the nature of the office itself." ^ 

Why the Senate has Succeeded 

Mr. Bryce has given the following reasons why the American 
Senate has proved a worthy and honorable body: 

1. It is representative. It is elective and popular, not 
hereditary. The senators may now be said to represent the 
people just as much as the members of the lower house. 

2. It is convenient in size. A small body educates its mem- 
bers better than a large one, can act together better, and 
each member has a keener sense of his own responsibility. 

3. The permanence of the Senate and the length of the term. 
This has promoted the intellectual ability of its members. 
It is a more attractive body for able and ambitious men. 
Members of the house, governors, and other political State 
leaders look toward achieving a seat in the Senate. The 
lower house is sometimes regarded as a political stepping stone 
to the upper house. 

4. It is not subject to rapid fluctuations of opinion. The 

1 Wharton's State Trials, cited by Foster on the Constitution, p. 317. 



270 THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 

Senate thus forms a bulwark against popular excitements and 
agitations. The Senate may better appreciate the importance 
of continuity in policy. The majority of the senators always 
have four more years to serve and public feeling is likely to 
change in that time, and a policy unpopular at the start may 
grow into popularity before it can be upset. So the Senate 
is able to fulfill one of the three great functions of its creation, 
restraint of impulsive and hasty legislation and appealing to 
the sober second thought of the nation. 

TOPICS AND QUERIES 

1. Why is it thought a greater honor to be a member of the Senate than 

of the House? 

2. Would it be constitutional for the President to make the Vice 

President a member of the Cabinet? What would be the advan- 
tage of doing so? 

3. Why should Nevada with about 80,000 inhabitants have as many 

representatives in the Senate as New York with 10,000,000 
inhabitants? How did such unequal representation come about? 

4. How would you remedy abuses arising from the "courtesy of the 

Senate"? 

5. Should all secret sessions of the Senate be abandoned? Why? 

6. How did the Senate come to have treaty-making and diplomatic 

functions? 

REFERENCES 

Read from Reinsch's Readings on American Federal Government, Chaps. 
IV, V. These contain reproductions of good articles in periodi- 
cals. Consult the Reader's Guide to Periodical Literature for 
other articles. Use the authorities given at the close of Chap. XII. 



CHAPTER XV 
THE HOUSE 

Congress, as we all know, consists of two houses, the 
Senate and the House of Representatives. The House 
of Representatives is called the House, for short. It will Congress: The 

. Difference 

be remembered from the history of the Old Confederation between the 
(1781-1787) that the Congress under our first constitution Two Houses 
consisted of only one house. To that old Congress a State 
might send as many as seven representatives, if it chose, or 
as few as two, but each State had only one vote. If a State 
had only two representatives present and these two could not 
agree, the State lost its vote. All questions were decided by 
States. In the convention of 1787 when the new Constitution 
was being made, some of the longest and most heated dis- 
cussions were over the question of representation. Should 
the States continue to have an equal vote, that is, equal 
power, in the new Congress? The small States wished equal 
representation, the large States proportional representation. 
Since all had agreed that there should be two houses in the new 
Congress, a compromise was arranged by which the small 
States should be given an equal vote with the large States in 
the Senate, while in the house the States should be represented 
according to population. This plan allows Nevada with a 
population of about 80,000 as much power in the United 
States Senate as New York with a population of nearly 10,000,- 
000, while in the House New York has forty-three votes and 
Nevada only one. According to the democratic representative 
principle equal numbers of people should have equal power 
and unequal numbers of people should have unequal power. 
One hundred thousand people should have more weight in 

271 



272 THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 

government and law-making than one thousand people; ten 
men should count for more than one. So the compromise 
plan for our two houses of Congress made the Senate not a 
democratic, but a federal, body where statehood decides, as 
under the Old Confederation, while the House is a more 
democratic national body where people are represented in 
proportion to numbers. 

Apportionment of Representatives 

In order that each State may be allotted its share of repre- 
sentatives in the House the Constitution provides that every 
ten years a national census shall be taken. After every 
census it is the duty of Congress to determine how many 
members there shall be in the House of Representatives and 
Decennial |-q q^j^q^ ^q g^cji State the share to which its population entitles 

Apportionment .,_,,... , ,, , . » m mi i 

Acts It. This IS done by an Apportionment Act. Ihe last 

Apportionment Act of August 8, 191 1, fixed the membership 
of the House at 435 and provided that if New Mexico and 
Arizona became States before another census were taken they 
should have one representative each. These States have 
since been admitted and the House now consists of 435 mem- 
bers. The number 435 was fixed upon because that was the 
lowest number that would prevent any State from losing a 
representative. Dividing the whole population of the country 
by 435 a ratio of 211, 977 for each representative was obtained. 
So there is one representative for (almost) every 212,000 of 
the population. The population of each State is then divided 
by the ratio and one representative is assigned for each fuU 
ratio and one for each major fraction. 

Neither Delaware, Nevada, nor Wyoming, has a popula- 
tion equal to 211,977, but two of them, Delaware and Wyo- 
ming, have each more than half the ratio (a major fraction), 
while Nevada, though having less than a major fraction of 
the ratio, gets a member, because the Constitution provides 
that each State shall have at least one representative. 



THE HOUSE 



^n 



The Apportionment Act of Congress provides that the 
representatives of each State shall be elected in districts 
" composed of contiguous and compact territory and containing The 
as nearly as practicable an equal number of inhabitants." Gerrymander 
While a Congressional District should have approximately 
212,000 people, it is not possible to make the districts exactly 
equal in numbers. In 
many States the districts 
are very unfairly laid out 
by "gerrymanders." 

As we have noticed, it 
is the business of the 
State legislature to lay 
out the districts from 
which the representatives 
are to be elected. Gerry- 
mandering'' is the process 
of laying out the districts 
in such a way as to give 
to a political party an 
unfair advantage, by en- 
abling the party to carry more districts than its party vote 
entitles it to. This is done by "throwing the greatest pos- 
sible number of hostile voters into a district which is certain 



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A Gerrymandered State 

An early gerr3Tnander in South Carolina. 
Note the irregular shape of the districts. 



^The term "gerrymander" is derived from the name of Elbridge 
Gerry, of Massachusetts, who was Vice President of the United States 
from 1813 to 1814. In 1812, while Gerry was Governor of Massa- 
chusetts, his party (Republican) redistricted the State, laying out the 
districts in such a way that the shapes of the towns forming a single 
district in Essex county gave the district a dragon-like shape. This 
was indicated upon a map of Massachusetts which a Federalist editor 
had hung up over his office desk. The celebrated painter, Gilbert 
Stuart, coming into the editor's office one day and observing the 
uncouth figure, added with his pencil a head, wings, and claws, and 
exclaimed, "That will do for a salamander." "Better say a Gerry- 
mander," growled the editor, and the name has found a permanent 
place in our language. 



274 



THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 



to be hostile and by adding to a district where parties 
are evenly divided a place in which the majority of 
friendly voters is sufficient to turn the scale." That is, 
the gerrymandering party will arrange the districts so that 
it may carry as many as possible by safe majorities, while it 
will seek to mass the opposing party votes and allow them 
to carry a few districts by large majorities. It coops up the 
opposing votes in as few districts as possible. 

There are two legal impediments in the way of gerry- 
mandering. First, the districts must "be composed of con- 
tiguous territory," and, second, they "shall contain as nearly 
as practicable an equal number of inhabitants." These 
restrictions are imposed by the apportionment acts of Con- 
gress. The gerrymander disregards both of these requirements 
illegally. The districts are made very unequal in numbers 
and they are distorted in shape by uniting counties out of their 
natural position. One district may be made to contain 
60,000 voters, or 300,000 people, another may have only 
30,000 voters, or 150,000 people, — which violates the prin- 
ciple of fair and equal representation. One New York district 
was made to contain only 165,000 inhabitants, while an oppos- 
ing district was made so large that it contained 450,000 
inhabitants. It is political trickery of the worst kind. 

Many examples of irregularly shaped districts have been 
cited, — the "shoe-string districts" in Missouri and Missis- 
sippi, very long and narrow; the "saddle bag district" in 
Illinois, comprising two groups of counties at different sides of 
the State so connected as to crowd as many opposition counties 
as possible into one district; the "belt-line district," running 
around Chicago; and the " dumb-bell district," in Pennsylvania. 
These indicate some of the freakish shapes that have been made 
out of the districts in order to make sure of the right party 
majority. Both parties practice this political trickery and 
they apply it to the States to secure control of the legislature 
as well as to elect an unfair number of Congressmen. 



THE HOUSE 275 

Election of Representatives 

Prior to 1842 a State was permitted to elect all of its repre- 
sentatives to Congress on a common ticket as we now elect 
presidential electors; that is, all the Congressmen from a Representatives 

- , . , . . - are elected by 

State might be elected at large, if the State desired it; so if Districts 
a party carried the State it got all the Congressmen from 
that State and the other party got none. Congress may 
at any time make or alter the regulations for electing repre- 
sentatives, and in 1842, owing to a contest over the five 
members elected at large from New Jersey, Congress passed 
an act requiring the States to elect by districts. Each State 
has as many districts as it has representatives and no district 
can elect more than one representative. In case of an increase 
in a State's representatives after a new census the additional 
Congressmen may be elected by the "State at large," until 
the State can be redistricted. It is the duty of the State 
legislature to redistrict the State at its first session following 
the apportionment. These representatives are known as 
''Congressmen at large" and the present act requires that 
they shall be "nominated in the same manner as the candi- 
dates for Governor, unless otherwise provided by the laws 
of the State." This secures to the people of a State who 
have adopted the primary nominating system the use of that 
system in naming their Congressmen at large. 

Members of the House are elected by a direct vote of 
the people. Any one may vote for a representative who is 
entitled by his State law to vote for members of the lower 
house (the more numerous branch) of his State legislature. ^"^ 

Representatives 

In some States women may vote for members of Congress are elected 
and for the President, while in other States all women and 
many men over twenty-one are denied the privilege of 
voting. It all depends on the law of the State, though by 
the fifteenth amendment no State may prevent men from 
\ oting on account of their race or color. 



276 



THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 



Congress 
regulates the 
Election of its 
own Members 



Qualifications 
of Repre- 
sentatives 



The 

Congressional 

Tenn 



A State may limit the right of its adult male citizens to vote 
by imposing an educational or property qualification for the 
suffrage or any other reasonable qualification, but if a State 
does so restrict its suffrage, then, as is provided by the four- 
teenth amendment, its representation in Congress shall be 
proportionately reduced, but this provision of the Constitution 
has never been enforced nor is it likely to be enforced.^ 

The Constitution provides that Congress may at any time 
by law make or alter the regulations touching the times, 
places, and manner of holding Congressional elections. In 
accordance with this provision Congress in 1842, as we have 
seen, provided for election by districts. In 1871 Congress 
enacted a law providing that its members should be chosen 
by written or printed ballots, and in 1872 a law of Congress 
required that all representatives should be elected on the 
same day throughout the Union, namely, on the first Tuesday 
after the first Monday in November. Later those States 
were exempted from the uniform election day whose con- 
stitutions provided a different day for electing their repre- 
sentatives. Maine and Vermont still elect Congressmen in 
September, and Oregon elects hers in June. 

Qualifications, Privileges, etc., of Representatives 

A representative in Congress must be at least twenty-five 
years old, he must have been for seven years a citizen of the 
United States, and he must be, at the time of his election, 
an inhabitant of the State from which he is chosen. He is 
elected for a term of two years. The term begins on the 
4th of March in the odd numbered years, though a newly 
elected Congress does not meet (unless the President calls it 
into extra session) until December, fully thirteen months after 
the November election in which the members were chosen. 
The salaries of members begin with the 4th of March. It 
seems that the long delay of more than a year between the 
^ On the suffrage see p. 10. 



THE HOUSE 277 

election of a new Congress and its meeting ought to be avoided 
and that a Congress elected in November ought to meet not 
later than the following January. This would enable Con- 
gress to carry out promptly any policy which the country 
may have declared for. 

There are two regular sessions of every Congress, each Sessions of 

° y o 7 Congress 

beginning on the first Monday in December. The first, or 
"long session" may last well into the following summer. 
The "short session" (from December to March) must close 
at high noon on March 4th of the odd numbered years. It 
sometimes happens when Congress is rushed in the closing 
hours of the short session that the sergeant-at-arms turns 
back the clock to give the House more time to finish its business. 
If an old Congress expires with important or necessary business 
unattended to the President may call an early extra session 
of the new Congress. In this way under President Wilson 
the 63d Congress was kept in session for nearly a year at a 
stretch. 

The law does not require that a representative shall reside ^^^*^'^^ 

Residence 

in the district from which he is elected, but custom has made required by 
it so by a law of the "unwritten constitution," and we seldom, Unwritten Law 
if ever, find a man running for Congress who does not live in 
the district from which he seeks election. This custom of 
requiring members of Congress to live in their districts 
has been much criticized. The English custom is different. 
There able men from the cities may represent country dis- 
tricts, or country gentlemen may be sent to Parliament from 
a city constituency. Mr. Gladstone, who lived in Wales, 
represented a Scotch constituency for many years, and he 
might have been elected from Cork in Ireland. An im- 
portant leader in America may be "gerrymandered" out of 
Congress if the opposition party gets control of his State 
legislature. This could not happen in Great Britain. There, 
if a great party leader were likely to be defeated in his own 
district, he could "stand" for election in some other district 



278 



THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 



English Idea 

of 

Representation 



Salaries 



where his party had a safe majority; or he might be elected 
for two or three districts at once. He would then accept 
for the constituency which his party would have the greatest 
difi&culty in carrying and let other candidates of his party 
stand for election in the other districts (constituencies). 

In England the election lasts for a week or more, since a man 
has a right to vote in as many places as he has property, and 
he is given time to get around. In England the people think 
of a member of Parliament as a representative not of a district 
or of a particular locality but of the whole nation, and it is 
claimed that the American district system tends to make the 
representative narrow in his views and to lead him to try 
merely "to get things" to carry home for his district, — 
pensions, public buildings, river and harbor appropriations, 
etc., — called a share of the "pork barrel" in pohtical slang, 
instead of playing the part of a national statesman with a view 
to the welfare of the whole country. However, the system 
of local representation is thoroughly established in America. 
It began in the colonies and it was upheld by the defenders 
of the American Revolution when they were told that America 
had "virtual representation" in Parliament through men who 
did not live among them. In a large and diversified country 
of varied interests, it may be better that different and widely 
separated localities should be represented from among their 
own people, and the representative be thus held more directly 
responsible to his constituents. 

The salary of a representative, as also of a senator, is now 
$7500. Each member is allowed also $1200 a year for a 
secretary, $125 a year for stationery, and mileage of twenty 
cents a mile in going and returning by the shortest route 
between his home and Washington City. Congress may deter- 
mine the amount of the pay to be given to its members. It 
is restrained only by public opinion and its own sense of duty 
and propriety. 

If a vacancy occurs in the House by the death, resignation, 



IHE HOUSE 279 

or expulsion of a member, the Governor of his State must 
issue a writ for an election in the member's district. This is 
done without much delay and a special election is held. 

All members have, in theory, the privilege of free speech Vacancies; 

•^ '■ ° Disabilities of 

and free debate (hmited by the rules of the House) and free- Members 
dom from arrest (except in cases of treason, felony or breach 
of the peace). It would not do to have a member prevented 
from attending, speaking, or voting in the House by his arrest 
on some charges that might be trumped up for just such a 
purpose. 

No member of Congress, either senator or representative, 
may hold any civil ofhce of the United States during his con- 
gressional term, nor may he be appointed to any office which 
has been created or the salary of which has been increased 
during his term. This is to prevent members from seeking 
to create offices or make others more lucrative, with a view 
to their own appointment thereto. 

That members might vote measures in favor of themselves 
was greatly feared as a source of corruption by the framers 
of the Constitution. The early feeling was that members of 
Congress ought not even to aspire to existing offices which their 
influence and position in Congress might help them to obtain. 
In 1825, when Jackson became a candidate for the presidency, 
he resigned his seat in the Senate for fear it might be thought 
he would use his senatorial position to promote his candidacy. 
Oftentimes members of Congress who have been defeated for 
reelection are appointed to lucrative offices by the President 
for party or personal reasons. After being " retired " from public 
life by their constituents they are "taken care of" by their 
party chief. These are called the "lame ducks" of politics. 

Officers of the House 

The chief officers of the House are the Speaker, the Clerk, 
Sergeant-at-arms, Door-keeper, Postmaster, and Chaplain, 
The Clerk, with his assistants and stenographers, keeps the 



28o 



THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 



How the 
Officers of the 
House are 
elected : 
Party 
Caucuses 



rolls and records of the House. The clerk of the former 
House presides while the new House is being organized and 
a Speaker elected. The Clerk makes up the roll of the newly 
elected House. In case of a contest he is not to decide what 
name shall go on the preliminary roll, but he always places 
on the roll the names of those holding the official State certifi- 
cates of election. After the House is organized by the election 
of its officers the House itself decides (upon the report of its 
judiciary committee) what contestants have been duly elected 
and are entitled to their seats. 

The House elects its own officers. This election is a matter 
of form, as the real election has already been made by the 
majority party at its caucus. The representatives of each 
party have a meeting called a caucus in which they nominate 
a list of House officers to be voted for when the House meets 
to organize. The rule of the caucus is that those who partici- 
pate in its proceedings must support its decisions in the open 
House. So the House has always elected the candidates 
selected by the caucus of the majority party. 

The man put forward for Speaker by the minority caucus 
is always recognized as the minority leader on the floor. He 
directs his party followers in "playing the political game" or 
in trying to put the majority "in the hole" as to pending 
legislation, or attempting in other ways to get political advan- 
tage for his party in the opinion of the country at large. 
The majority leader on the floor is the chairman of the 
Ways and Means Committee. He, together with the Speaker 
and the Committee on Rules ("steering committee"), guides 
the business, debates, and deliberations of the House, seeks 
to circumvent the minority in any obstructive tactics its leader 
may adopt, and brings the House to decision and action. 

The Speaker is the most important officer of the House. 
The title "Speaker" comes from England, from the time when 
this officer served as spokesman of the Commons when that 
body wished to address the king. In the Commons the 



THE HOUSE 



281 



Former 
Sources of the 
Speaker's 
Power 



Speaker is not a party officer but merely an impartial mod- 
erator of the House, like the Vice President in the Senate, to 
observe the decorum of the House and to hold an even hand The Speaker 

and his 

between parties. It is said the Speaker "forgets to what Power 
party he belongs" when he leaves the benches of the Com- 
mons to take the Speaker's chair, and the same Speaker is 
often continued even through changes of party control in the 
Commons, 

In America it is quite different, the Speaker being a party 
leader and being expected to give the advantage to his own side 
where it can be done with reasonable partisan fairness. His 
powers are not so great as in former years, but he is still 
the most important legislative officer in America, and, next 
to the President, the most important man in public life. 
Formerly he had full power to appoint the committees of the 
house and to name the chairman of each committee, and as 
nearly all legislation was decided on in these committees 
(the house acting in harmony with their reports), this gave to 
the Speaker almost autocratic control over legislation. If 
the Speaker favored a certain measure or poHcy he saw to it 
that the committee having the matter in charge was made up 
to promote that end; if he opposed a pending policy he made 
up a committee unfavorable to it. 

Another source of the Speaker's power came from his po- 
sition as chairman of the Committee on Rules. This is a 
"privileged committee," having the privilege of reporting 
a special rule for a special order at any time, by which the 
House stops for a time considering the business before it 
and takes up other business which the Committee on Rules 
wishes to bring before it for passage. Its purpose is to ex- 
pedite business, prevent debate, and to bring the House to 
act on those measures upon which the Speaker and the party 
Leaders wish to have it act. The Committee on Rules is 
therefore an all-powerful steering committee with power to 
direct the order of business for the House. 



282 



THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 



In 191 1, after some years of agitation against the growing 

"one-man power," of the Speaker and in answer to a pubHc 

Curtailment of demand for more popular control over legislation, the entire 

the Speaker's . . . , 

Powers in 1911 Committee system and the House rules were reorganized. 
The first step was that the power of naming the committees 
was transferred to the House itself. The real power of selec- 
tion, however, rests with the party caucus. The caucus of 
the majority party elects the majority members of the im- 
portant committee of Ways and Means and then makes that 
committee a Committee on Committees to select the other 
majority members of the various committees. The Speaker 
was also deprived of his membership in the Committee on 
Rules, which the caucus now selects. Its membership was 
increased from five to ten members, elected, four by the 
minority and six by the majority. 

So now by the caucus instead of by the Speaker the control 
of the House is put into the hands of a very few men. The 
minority party caucus is allowed to select their members on 
the committees, the majority party in the House always 
having a majority on each committee. This is necessary in 
order to expedite or control the business of the House and to 
prevent the opposition minority from obstructing legislation, 
and it is thought that the party caucus represents popular 
action more than the old system of control by the Speaker 
and his Committee on Rules. 

In spite of this curtailment of his powers, the Speaker still 
wields the strongest influence in legislation. He presides 
over the proceedings of the House, refers bills to committees, 
and in general is the leader of his party in the House. In pre- 
siding over debates, he recognizes whom he will. The Speaker 
usually arranges with the floor leaders of the respective par- 
ties that the floor is to be assigned to members in a certain 
order and for certain purposes. But in a general, promis- 
cuous debate, the Speaker can and does select those men for 
recognition who will voice the sentiments which he wishes to 



Present 
Powers of the 
Speaker 




A CONGEESSIONAL COMMITTEE IN SESSION 

Secretary of the Navy, Daniels testifying before the House of Representatives 

Xaval Committee. 





r-r-^'TinTDTf!--- 



Office Building. House of Representatives 

This building is opposite the House of Representatives wing of the Capitol. 
Each representative has an office and there are rooms for committee meetings. 



THE HOUSE 2S3 

have expressed. Therefore, the Speaker can not only protect 
his own party from defeat and delay, but within his party he 
can strengthen and develop that group of men which he favors. 

The party "Whip" in Congress is one of the lieutenants, 
or aids, who helps the organized leaders in conducting the 
party business and in securing the passage of measures in which 
the party is interested. He may be one of the principal 
leaders who acts, in a way, as a "go-between" between the 
party organization of the house and the party members. 
The "Whip" is an Enghsh term and indicates an important "^^^ "Whip" 
party officer in the Commons. There the "Whip" is expected 
(i) to inform members on Cabinet, or Government, business; 
to explain to them the merits of a measure, and to tell them how 
to vote if from absence or inattention they are ignorant of the 
business in hand; (2) to "keep a house," that is, a quorum, 
ready to pass Government bills when they come up. They are 
to make sure that the party majority are at hand ready to 
pass the party measures; (3) to act as tellers, or to count mem- 
bers when they pass by on a vote or a division; (4) to obtain 
pairs for party members, when they cannot be present, during 
a vote; (5) to keep himself informed of party opinion in 
the house and to inform the leader to what extent he may 
depend upon party support. 

While the functions of the American "Whip" are not so 
clearly defined he performs most of these duties. 

The Committee System of the House 

The rules and order of procedure of the House are too 
complicated for consideration here. They are to be under- 
stood only by observation or experience in the House, and not 
always then, as they are the result of years of precedent and 
custom. A general explanation may be given of the House 
committee system in legislation. There are over fifty regular 
standing committees in the house, and special committees 
are frequently appointed. Each of these committees takes 



284 THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 

into consideration the bills or measures assigned to it, every 
bill going before a committee before it is considered by the 
House, unless the rules should be suspended and the bill should 
be put upon its passage for some very unusual reason, and 
even then the chairman of the proper committee would report 
it as having been already considered. Sometimes there is 
rivalry between two committees for the control of a bill. 
The Speaker decides to which committee it shall go, unless he 
is overruled by the House. 

Committee meetings for the consideration of a bill have 
usually been in secret, though "open hearings" may be 
allowed at which those interested may appear before the 
committee to advocate or oppose the measure. In recent years 
there has been an increasing demand for full publicity in 
committee proceedings, since the fate of a measure is usually 
decided in the committee and it is right that the influences 
brought to bear in committee should be known to the public 
and that a member's constituents should know how he votes 
and acts toward a measure, not only in the open House but also 
in the committee, where his vote and influence may be much 
more important. A committee may "smother a bill" by re- 
fusing to "report it out," and give the members of the House 
a chance to pass it; or it may amend a bill or report a substi- 
tute. If the majority of the House is determined to consider 
or pass a bill which a committee is "smothering," it may order 
the committee to report, and the committee would have to 
obey the mandate of the House, but recourse to this process is 
seldom. Committee leaders are disposed to stand by one 
another in the exercise of their prerogatives. 

When, after due consideration, a committee decides to 

report a measure for passage the House can have but a very 

short time to discuss or consider it, there being so many 

measures pressing for attention. This leads other members 

H""^ not on the committee having the bill in charge to vote in 

work ' favor of the committee's recommendation. The others have 



THE HOUSE 285 

been busy with their own lines of committee work in legisla- 
tion, and they assume that the committee in charge is 
better informed on the matter of the bill and have fully and 
honestly considered it and have come to the best conclusion. 
In any case they are likely to vote for the measure and throw 
the responsibility for its passage upon the committee. As a 
rule there can be but little discussion in the House, perhaps 
only two hours being allowed for debate. The chairman of 
the committee having the bill in charge gives an outline of 
the measure, explains it, and summarizes some brief reasons for 
its passage. A few members may be allowed to speak for or 
against it, if they can arrange with the Speaker and the floor 
leader for recognition. The House goes on the theory that 
it is not a talking body but a deciding body and that it 
must approve or reject the conclusions of its committees. 

It is not possible here to describe fully the work of the 
various committees of the House. The major committees 
are the Committees on Ways and Means, on Appropria- 
tions, on Commerce, Rivers and Harbors, Postal Affairs, 
Naval Affairs, Mihtary Affairs, Invalid Pensions, etc. 

The chief business of the Ways and Means Committee is 
to devise "ways and means" of raising money. This is the w^ys and 

. . . Means 

most important committee of the House. Its chairman is committee 
the leader of the majority party on the floor, ranking next to 
the Speaker. Revenue bills originate in this committee, though 
it may decide to approve a money bill recommended by the 
Secretary of the Treasury. The report of the Secretary of the 
Treasury is referred to this committee, but the committee is 
not bound either by law or custom to base its bills and measures 
on this report. It would seem that in originating and pre- 
senting bills to determine how much money should be raised, 
the committee ought to know how much money will be spent. 
But the committee does not know this, since there are various 
spending committees of the house offering bills and pressing 
them for passage, which call for money, and no one knows 



286 



THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 



Evils of a 

Government 

Surplus 



Appropriations 
Committee 



The Budget 
System 



how much will be called for in the aggregate. Only a rough 
estimate can be made, with the important committees some- 
times working at cross purposes or at loggerheads, in a block- 
head sort of fashion. "Each pursues its own way without 
reference to the others, and none of them is guided further than 
it chooses by the Treasury Department. All the expenditures 
which they recommend must be met by appropriation bills, 
but into the propriety of these bills the Appropriation Com- 
mittee cannot inquire." ^ So, no matter what the Ways and 
Means Committee may do, there may be a deficit, — or a 
surplus, which is almost as bad. 

If Congress allows a great surplus to accumulate in the 
treasury, it takes money unnecessarily from the pockets of the 
people and from the arteries of trade. Idle money is useless, 
or worse, as it tempts Congress to extravagance, waste, and 
favoritism in its appropriations. The debts (bonds) of the 
government cannot be paid until they fall due. Sinking funds 
are provided by governments for debt-paying purposes. 

The most important spending committee is the Committee 
on Appropriations. Until the Civil War the work of this 
committee was combined with that of the Ways and Means 
Committee, but since then it has been separate. It has charge 
of all the large civil and diplomatic appropriation bills which 
carry money for the vast expenses of the government. Other 
committees have charge of bills which carry large appro- 
priations, — for the Army, Navy, Rivers and Harbors, Post 
Ofl&ce Department, Pensions, etc. The need of cooperation 
and concerted action among these committees is apparent. 
To promote this end a "budget scheme" has been proposed. 

A budget is a plan for financing a government for a definite 
period of time. It is an estimate of expenses and income, 
showing where and why increases or decreases are estimated. 
It is prepared by a responsible executive and offered to a 
representative assembly, or legislature, whose approval is 
1 Bryce, Vol. I, p. 178. 



THE HOUSE 287 

necessary before the plan may be carried out. This budget, 
or financial plan, involves not only an estimate of government 
needs, but an estimate of financial resources. These estimates 
are made upon reports from many persons from various de- 
partments who know the needs and operating expenses of the 
government, the kind of work to be done, and the requirements 
for all the public ofiicers and institutions. These estimates 
and requests are all arranged by one responsible executive 
who presents and recommends the budget to the legislature 
with suggestions as to the most available sources of revenue. 
It should be examined and approved by one single legislative 
committee, and, when adopted, it should be accompanied by 
an accounting system that will show clearly where its pro- 
visions are violated. The purpose of the budget system is 
to find a method by which the President and Congress (or the 
Governor and the State legislature) may consider and act 
together on a definite business and financial program; to bring 
the several departments of the government and the financial 
committees of Congress into harmony and under one leadership 
in deciding how much money to ask for, how it shall be raised, 
and how the money shall be spent. Heretofore there has not 
been enough cooperative action between Congress and the 
Executive in financing the Government, and the result has 
been waste, extravagance, and lack of efiiciency. It is hoped 
by the budget system that the Government may be able to 
secure economy and efficiency by bringing the business of 
devising a plan for raising and spending money under one 
responsible business head, like the President and his Cabinet, 
and not under forty different committees working at cross pur- 
poses. Many business firms are so conducted and they oversee 
their income and outgo in a sensible and businesslike way.^ 

1 See the Report of the Commission on the Need of a National Budget, 
sent by President Taft to Congress, June 27, 1912. House Document, 
No. 854, of the Sixty-second Congress, second Session. Also the Bulle- 
tins of the Bureau of Municipal Research, New York City. 



288 THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 

Mr. Bryce and other political observers of our Congress 
have named a number of evils in the committee system: 
EvUsofthe (|j) jl- breaks up the unity of the House, — creating fifty or 
System morc little legislative bodies, — namely, the committees. 

(2) It cramps debate. There is no use attempting effective 
speaking in the House since the real decisions are made in the 
committees. (3) It lessens the harmony of legislation, since the 
• committees proceed without knowing what other committees 
are doing, the result being that inconsistent and conflicting 
provisions are inserted in our statutes. (4) It facilitates 
corruption. The members of the House tend to shift their re- 
sponsibility to the committees, and so long as committees may 
act behind closed doors, without minutes or record of their 
proceedings, a member may escape exposure for wrongdoing. 
Thus it reduces the responsibility, and corruption is more 
likely to prevail if no one can be held responsible for what is 
done. A member may oppose a measure in committee while 
pretending to favor it in the open House. (5) It dissipates 
the ability of the House. The able leaders are chairmen of 
different committees. It is contended that it would be better 
to bring fifteen or twenty of these more experienced public 
men together into one central guiding committee in charge 
of all the important legislation of the house, like the English 
Cabinet. The country would then know who was responsible 
for the failures and shortcomings in legislation. There would 
be oversight, consistency, a common plan and leadership in 
all lines of legislation. (6) It lowers the interest of the 
nation in the proceedings of Congress, since real debates and 
decisions are not expected there. 
Benefits of the Qj^ ^j^g Other hand the committee system has its advan- 

Committee 

System tages: (i) It is a convenient means of killing off worthless 

bills. Fully twenty thousand bills are introduced into a single 
Congress; hardly one in twenty can be considered or passed 
by the House. The committees must kill them off and save 
the time of the House. (2) It enables the House to deal 



THE HOUSE 289 

with more measures. The House by trusting its committees 
to kill or report bills may legislate on more subjects than 
would otherwise be possible. (3) It promotes speciahzation 
in legislation. The chairmen of the committees on Naval 
Affairs, Foreign Affairs, Commerce, etc., may have given 
special attention and many years of study to the field of 
legislation with which their committees have to deal. It is 
hardly likely that a body of men in a central committee for 
all business could have so wide and efficient a grasp on all 
departments of legislation as the better chairmen have over 
their special work. (4) The committees afford a good means 
of investigating and scrutinizing the executive departments, 
and (5) They serve as a means of communication between 
the legislative and executive departments. Members of the 
President's cabinet and other executive officers interested in 
promoting or opposing certain legislation may appear before 
the committees and present their cause. Thus the necessary 
cooperation is obtained between those who make the laws and 
those who are responsible for their working in practice. 

How A Bill Becomes a Law 

A bill may be introduced into either the House or the 
Senate.^ It is read by title and referred by the presiding 
officer to the proper committee. There its fate rests, without 
any presumption in its favor, to be amended, reported favor- 
ably or adversely, or not reported at all. If the bill receives 
the approval of the Committee it is reported back to the 
House of its origin with a recommendation that it be passed. 
It is then read a second time in full and is placed upon the 
calendar, along with hundreds of others that are waiting to 
be taken up. The "calendar" is the grave-yard of unnum- 
bered buried bills awaiting their turn to be brought out to the 
light and life of a legislative day which in Congress lasts as 
long as the House remains in session, — it may be a day, 
^ All bills for raising revenue must originate in the House. 



290 



THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 



Committee of 
the Whole 



Filibustering 



three days, or a week. To get at a bill on the calendar the 
house must either (i) await the bill's turn in its order, or 
(2) advance it upon the calendar by a special order, that is, 
set a special time for its consideration, and this will call for the 
consent and cooperation of the Committee on Rules (see 
p. 280). When the bill comes up a third time it is read only 
by title, unless a full reading is demanded. If the bill under 
consideration is a House bill, the House may go into the 
''committee of the whole" to consider it. This is the whole 
membership of the house acting as a committee. It is a form 
of proceeding in which the House is less hampered by rules 
and debate is freer. When the House goes into committee 
of the whole, the Speaker calls some member to the chair. 
While the debate is free, it is necessarily limited. Every 
member may have a chance to speak but the speeches are 
limited to five minutes each, and no member may speak twice 
without special permission. If the committee of the whole 
votes favorably on the bill, the "committee rises," the Speaker 
again takes the chair, and the chairman of the committee of 
the whole reports the bill to the house for passage. 

Filibustering in Congress is the process of resorting to 
parliamentary tactics for the purpose of delaying, or obstruct- 
ing, or preventing, the business before the House. The 
process consists of "moving to adjourn," or "moving to take 
a recess," or that "when the house adjourns, it adjourns to 
a certain hour," or making other "dilatory motions," or calling 
for the ye^s and nays, thus causing a roll call (which consumes 
half an hour) or making long speeches. Windy "filibus- 
terers" are fertile in long speeches. The time of the House 
may be taken up in this way without limit unless there is some 
rule to prevent it. The House has a cloture rule, to close de- 
bate, shut off filibustering, and bring the House to a vote, which 
the Senate has only lately allowed. A cloture rule is a rule 
or resolution which provides that after a certain limited time 
for debate, each side being allotted its share of time, all motions 



§tdn-fourtb Congtfss af tk Initfb ^Uks of gnitrka; 

^t the I'irst J«cssion, 

BcRun and held at the Citv ..f \\'..^hu<^u,n on Monday, the' sixth day of December, 
om- thi.u.viiKi tiii)i> huiicircd aud fifteen. 



-l,iMi>li :iii I'it'ht-hour (liiy for employees of carriers eiifjajrwl i[i iiurrsi 
ami f(»rciirji i-<iiiinH'rce, and for other puriKwes. 



/)(• // I iiachil ill/ the Senate arid Ho7ixe of H)'iire.sc>itiilin's of the I'nili'd 
States of Amerira in Congress assembled, That begjmiinj; January first, 
nineteen hundred and seventeen, eight hours shall, in (contracts for labor and 
>ervi< e, he deemed u day's work und the measure or standard of a day's work for 
the purjitise of reekoning the eotiipcnsation for ser\ices of all employees who are 
now or may hereafter be em])loye<I b\' any connnon carrier by railroa<l, except 
niilrnads independently owned and operated not exceeding: one hundred miles 
in loiiirfh. electric street railroads, and electric interurban railroads, which is 
sub.iect to the provisions of the Act of February fourth, eighteen hundred aud 
eighty-seven, entitled "An Act to regulate commerce," as amended, and who 
are now'or may hereafter be actually engaged in any capacity in the operation of 
trains used for the transjwrtation of persons or projwrty on railroads, except 
railroads indej)endently owned and ojicratod not exceeding one hundred miles 
in length, electric street railroatls. and electric Interurban railroads, from any 
State or Tenitory of the United States or the District of Columbia to any other 
State or Territory of the Unito<l States or the District of Coliunbia, or from one 
place in a Territory to another place in the same Territory, or from any place in 
the United States to an adjacent foreign country, or from any place in the United 
Slates through a foreign country to any other ])lace in the United States: 
Provided, That the alx)ve exceptions shall not apply to railroads though less 
than one hundred miles in length whose principal business is leasing or furnishing 
tenninal or transfer facilities to other railroads, or are themselves engaged in 
transfers of freight between railroads or between railroads and industrial plants. 
Sec. 2. That the President shall appoint a commission of three, which 
shall observ'e the operation and effects of the instittttion of the eight-hour 
standard workday as above defined and the facts and conditions affecting the 



Facsimile of a Federal Law 

Act providing an eight-hour day for raihvay employees passed Sept. 1916, 
to forestall a general railway strike. (See other side.) 



11. i:, ITTOD— I' 

ri'hili'.ri:- li.-;\M.rii -iirh > n) "ii .;irnri> miiiI i'iii|il(nfcs (liiriiji;- ,-, ji. ruxi ,o .,■•■■ 

Ii-!.^ itiriii -IN 111. .mil. mil- iiinrr llmii iiihr iiiin,lh>, in llif (liMTi'tior, i.i iK. . ..• , 
,^i<iii, an. I \'. ilhiii lliiri;V liay^ 1 lirrcal'liT Mich .■(immisNloii sliall n-|.<irl it- liiniiHL- 
h. (hr I'n-iiU 111 aii^l i\\\m-v->: llial .-a. fi rnriiili>T of llir ( iiiiiiiii-^ioii cnaLal 
II Mill- r \\\'- |irc.\i^ii.iiv ,,]■ lliis Arl shall rr..i\f vurh roiii|.riivati,iii as may I"- li\.a| 
l.\ \\\v I'ri'sidriil. Thai llir >illii ul ^^-.Ti.lMi, or s.i iimrli thclvof as liia\ \»- 
ii.arss.,r\. Ik-, and liiTci.) is. a|i|ii..|n iai.-.i . iiiii iif any Hioin'\ in rhc Inih-,! 
-SI ,1. -Ircasiiry [mt nlhrrwisc a|i|irii|irialr,l. l,,i ihr tina-ssan and |in.|H-r i'\|m mm - 
■ : -. ■! Ill .(.iiiuTliiiii uilh the- unrk .it -ii.li r,.niinissi,.ii. iin-liiilin- -.alar''. - 
l» r .1':. til, irav.'liii;: v.xpi'iisi'.s iil' niniih.Ts ami .■nijil.y .-cs. and rrnl. fiiriiiliir. . 
..tll.v li\!urcs anil sii|.|ilii-s. hunks, salaries, ami olli.r n.-.a-ssar\ rxjH'iis.'s. iln- 
s.inn- In h.' a|)|iriivct) hy tlio chairilian oC wtiii . nirnnissi.in and aiidiU'd h\ tin' 
(inijiiT ari-.iiiii|iMi.r (itiiivrs id' till' Tri'asiiry, 

Sk<'. ;i. Thai (H>ridin;r the n^imrt nf llir .■.iininissii.n h.T.'in jirn\ idfd fur and 
f.ir a jHTiiid <d' lliirly days ilnTral'l.-r ih.' .■..ni|K'ii-a!i..n i.l railway ('iu|ih.\«'i's 
siilijnl In ihis Act fnr a .slamlard ri-lil-lnair \\..rkda,\ shall nn( \»- n-duiaal hidnw 
ihc present standard d:i\ '> w.icc. an.) I.ir all nr.'.-ss.ai\ lime in e.\.ess nl eifjlil 
h.iiirs such eni|iliiM'es shall'l.e jiai.l at a rale nnl less than the prn rata rale I'nr 
siudi standard eiirlii-li.nir wnrk.lay. 

Sec. 4. Thai any pers.nt vi.datiiii; any pr.nisii.n .d this Act shall be guilty 
of ;i luisdeiiieaniir and n[>.ni enin i.-iinn shall he line. I nut less than SltKJ and liol 
iiliirc than $1,<«kI. or ini|>risnnc(l not to exe«'ed nne yeaj^ nr bulh. 

/"Ay 




Speaker <>j the Honsf uf Hcpicse>i(nlii^i<. 



JlCii'Kf Preskien^jTkebeimlt'iMv/l/T^r 



^Un^T^rJ- <y c>*^/^wC^,/^/<^ 



'iyC^^-g>^t^ — 



THE HOUSE 



291 



and business are out of order except the ''previous question" 
and a vote on the pending bill, and the Speaker is empowered 
to recognize no member for the purpose of making a dilatory 
motion and to declare all such motions out of order. The 
Speaker knows such motions when he sees them or hears them. 

The previous question is a parliamentary remedy against 
filibustering. If members are indulging in obstructive debate 
or motions merely to stave off or prevent business, a member 
may move that the "previous question" be put, or placed 
before the House; that is, the motion or measure which the 
majority had started to pass before the filibustering began. 
When this motion is made no other motion or business can 
intervene, but the Speaker must then put the motion, or ask 
the House whether it desires an immediate vote on the pending 
measure. If the House says yes, by carrying the motion for 
the "previous question," then the original measure must be 
put upon its passage. 

In the Senate the debate was always unlimited. But 
since the 4th of March, 191 7 after "a. little group of wUful 
men " obstructed action desired by the overwhelming majority 
of the Senate for the protection of American citizens and 
American ships, the previous question is allowed in the Senate 
for closing debate and bringing the Senate to a decision. 

A quorum in any parliamentary body is the number au- 
thorized by its constitution legally to transact business. In 
Congress the majority of each house constitute a quorum. 
For a hundred years, whether a quorum was present (if any 
one raised the question) was ascertained by a roll call. If a 
majority answered to their names a quorum was held to be 
present, and what the majority of this quorum decided upon 
could be legally passed. If a majority did not answer on the 
roll call, then it was held that no quorum was present and the 
pending business was blocked. The House could not act 
until the majority were both present and ready to do business 
by voting. Members, though present, could "break the 



Quorum 



"Breaking a 
Quorum " 



292 THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 

quorum" and stop the business of the House by refusing to 
vote. When a party had only a small majority in the House 
it had to have all its members there before it could carry 
anything through if the opposition party chose to block it. 
"Breaking the quorum" in this way, by refusing to vote 
either yes or no on roll call, or to say "present but not voting," 
"Makinga was a common method of filibustering. This was the situation 

Quonun " . 

in 1S90 when Speaker Reed made his celebrated decision and 
"made a quorum" by instructing the clerk to count as "present 
but not voting" a number of the minority members whom he 
saw present but who were refusing to vote. The filibustering 
was defeated and the House was enabled to proceed with its 
business. After that a quorum was determined both by 
roll call and the seeing of the Speaker, and the opposition 
members who were in their seats in large numbers had to 
submit to being counted as present. 

The Constitution provides that if a quorum is not present 
a smaller number may adjourn from day to day and compel 
the attendance of absent members. The Sergeant-at-arms 
may send for absentees and they may be brought in and 
censured or fined for unexcused absence. A quorum is often 
made in this way. Many times the House proceeds in the 
transaction of business while there is no quorum present; 
in fact while only a handful of members are in the House. 
According to a legislative fiction, so long as no one objects to 
what is being done the House is supposed not to know that 
there is no quorum present. But if any member wishes to 
object to what is going on when routine bills are passing 
through the legislative hopper at a rapid rate, he may 
do so by "raising the question of the quorum." Then the 
passing of bills stops until a quorum is brought in. This 
delay will call attention to the measure to which the attentive 
member has raised objection, and it will not be passed unless the 
majority are ready to become responsible for it. In this 
routine passing of bills while only a few members are present, 



THE HOUSE 293 

there is an opportunity for some "bad job" or ''steal" to get 
through, which illustrates the importance of having some 
"watch-dog of the treasury" on guard in the person of some 
faithful representative who will not tire out in guarding the 
interests of the public. 

Before the final debate in the House begins, an arrangement 
is generally made by the Speaker, the chairman of the com- 
mittee in charge of the bill, and the minority leader, for the 
allotment of time, a list of members being agreed upon who 
are to be heard for and against the measure. No others will 
be recognized by the Speaker, and thus the control of the 
debate is placed in the hands of the leaders on either side. 
The leaders of the majority have power over the debate, but, 
as a rule, they act generously in allowing the minority to be 
heard by their own chosen representatives. 

There are four ways of voting on a measure in Congress: 
(i) By a viva voce vote. By this the presiding officer calls 
for the "ayes" and "noes," and decides according to the 
volume of sound. If exception is taken to his decision a divi- 
sion may be called for. This is obtained by (2) a standing 
vote. Those for and against a measure rise in succession and 
are counted by the tellers. Sometimes a presiding officer arbi- 
trarily refuses to hear or heed a call for a division. He declares 
the measure carried or defeated, and, pounding with his gavel 
for order, he proceeds to announce that the next item on the 
calendar is before the House. This is called "gavel rule." 
There have been serious abuses of this kind. A presiding 
ofiScer is prevented from becoming too highhanded and un- 
scrupulous in "gavel rule" by public opinion and his fear of 
going beyond what the members will endure. (3) A vote 
may be had by the members passing between the tellers in 
front of the Speaker's desk. (4) By a roll call. The clerk 
calls the roll and each member answers "aye" or "no." This 
is the only way by which members may be placed upon 
record in a vote. One fifth of the House may demand a 



Methods 
of voting 



294 



THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 



roll call and thus put the members "on record" in their 
voting. This is quite a restraint, as members often change 
their votes when they know that how they are voting can be 
found out from the record. 

Members of opposite parties pair off with one another on 

Pairing off party questions when they wish to be absent, so the party 
vote remains relatively the same. If a member who is paired 
is present while his "pair" is absent, he is under obligation 
of honor not to vote. To take advantage of one's "pair" 
by voting on a party question while he is absent would be the 
height of dishonor. Pairs are arranged by the Whip and are 
a matter of record. Oftentimes a member, when a vote is 
being taken, will announce, "I am paired with Mr. So-and-so, 
who is absent; if he were present I would vote 'No.' " That 
explains where he stands and why he does not vote. 

If a bill passes one house (which it does if it receives the 
votes of a majority of the quorum), it goes to the other house 
and goes through essentially the same process there. There 
the bill may be entirely defeated and laid on the shelf, or it 

Conference may be amended, in which case the bill will have to come back 

Committee 

to its original house for concurrence. If the two houses can- 
not agree separately upon the terms of a bill there is a "dead- 
lock," a conference committee is appointed, say three or five 
members from each house, whose business it will be to try to 
adjust the differences and to come to some agreement. Here 
some compromise is likely to be arranged. Then the con- 
ferrees from each house report back to their respective houses 
the amended bill as agreed to and it is passed by each house. 
The famous Missouri Compromise in 1820 was arranged in 
this way. The conference report cannot be amended; it 
must be passed or rejected in toto. Thus members are often 
compelled to vote for many sections, or items, of a measure 
to which they are stoutly opposed, and "jobs" are often 
concocted in conference committee contrary to the pubHc 
interest. 



THE HOUSE 295 

After the bill has passed both houses it then goes to the Presi- 
dent, who may approve and sign it, in which case it becomes 
a law, or he may veto it (see pp. 243-244), in which case it is 
returned with the President's objections to the house in which 
it originated. That house, after entering the President's objec- 
tions upon its journal, proceeds to reconsider the bill, and if 
two thirds agree to pass the bill it is sent, together with the 
President's objections, to the other house, and if the bill 
is approved by two thirds of that house also, it becomes a 
law. "In all such cases the votes of both houses shall be 
determined by yeas and nays and the names of the persons 
voting for and against any bill shall be entered on the journal 
of each house respectively." ^ 

It often happens that the members of the party majority 
in control of the House are not united in the support of bills 
brought before the House. When the leaders of the party 
in the House wish to get the united support of the party 
members for a measure they seek to make it a subject for caucus 
action. If the caucus approves the bill as a party measure a Caucus Bin 
and decides that all loyal party members should support it, 
the bill then becomes a "caucus bill" and the solid party 
vote is brought to its support. If a member does not wish to 
to be bound by the caucus action he should give public notice 
to that effect or refuse to go into the caucus which is called to 
pass upon the bill. 

A caucus bill in America corresponds, in a measure, to a 
"government bill" in the English House of Commons, that is, 
a bill which is brought in by the Cabinet or Government, 
or the responsible ministry of the time. It is then expected 
that all members of the majority will vote for the bill to 
sustain the Government. If the bill were defeated it would 
mean that the Ministry would either have to resign or call a 
new election. 

The legislative "rider" is sometimes employed by one 
^ Constitution, Art. I, Sect. 7. 



296 THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 

house against the other, or by both houses against the Presi- 
dent to coerce or induce the passage of measures. A "rider" 
LegisiaHve jg ^j^ unrelated piece of legislation attached to another legis- 
lative measure with the purpose of having it ride through 
on the merits of the measure to which it is attached. Riders 
are usually attached to appropriation bills. As these bills 
must be passed to supply money to keep the wheels of govern- 
ment going, it is thought the "rider" will not be thrown ofi 
from the bill, nor the whole bill defeated in order to defeat 
the "rider." The "rider" may be a brief amendment or a 
whole new bill having nothing whatever to do with the bill 
to which it is attached. 

In 1820 the Senate attached the Missouri bill as a "rider" 
to the Maine bill coming up from the house, as a means of 
forcing the anti-slavery men in the house to admit Missouri 
as a slave state in order to get Maine in as a free state, and 
in 1855 the anti-slavery men in passing the Army Appro- 
priation Bill in the house (in order to bring the Senate and 
the President to a different policy on the Kansas question) 
attached a rider providing that the President should use no 
part of the money appropriated to enforce the acts of the 
pro-slavery legislature in the Territory of Kansas. In 1879 
the Democrats in control of the House sought to force the 
Senate to consent to the repeal of the Federal Election Law 
by attaching the repealing bill to a necessary appropriation 
bill. The Senate refused to let the "rider" pass. A "dead- 
lock" occurred. Congress adjourned without making the 
necessary appropriations, and President Hayes had to call 
an extra session of Congress. 

All parties have used this legislative device in the past, 
but it has become unpopular, and if either house or the 
President stands out against it, public approval will be 
accorded, while if important legislation were defeated because 
of an obnoxious "rider," public condemnation will be visited 
upon the body responsible for the "rider." This illustrates 



THE HOUSE 



297 



the desirability of giving to the President the power to veto 
any item or part of an appropriation bill without vetoing all 
of it. ■ 

Powers of the two Houses 

The two houses are coordinate, of equal power in legis- 
lation, except that the Senate may not originate bills for 
raising revenue. But it may originate appropriation bills 
which make revenue bills necessary, and it may put onto a 
revenue bill any number of amendments, which really gives 
the Senate equal power with the House. As a matter of fact 
and of politics the Senate is rather more powerful than the 
House as a legislative body. Its members, as a rule, are older 
and more experienced in legislation. It is a permanent body 
and in conflicts with the House it can afford to bide its time 
and wait for the leadership and personnel of the House to 
change. As the Senate is a smaller body and accustomed to 
senatorial courtesy, its members can more easily stand together 
and act in unity. 

In England the two houses of Parliament are not coordinate. 
The Commons is the supreme legislative body and the House 
of Lords is subordinate. The Lords serve only as a check on 
the Commons, with power to veto a measure for a time. But 
any bill which the Commons passes a second time becomes 
a law after the lapse of two years, despite any veto or objection 
by the Lords. 

While our two houses are coordinate in legislation,' each 
house has certain exclusive powers and privileges. 

To the House belong exclusively the powers, (i) to originate 
revenue bills, (2) to originate and prefer impeachment charges, 
(3) to elect the President in case the Electoral College fails 
to elect. The Senate may not participate in any of these 
functions. 

To the Senate belong exclusively the powers, (i) to confirm 
the President's appointments, (2) to approve or reject treaties, 



The Two 
Houses 
Coordinate In 
Legislation 



Exclusive 
Powers and 
Privileges of 
each House 



298 



THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 



(3) to act as a court in impeachment proceedings, (4) to elect 
the Vice President in case of failure to elect by the Electoral 
College. The House may not take part in any of these 
functions. 

Patronage 

PoUtics and Patronage is the power to bestow ofl&ces and favors. Con- 

" Pork "and grcssmcn are not given the appointing power, but the President 
"P^®" usually takes their recommendations for ofi&ces within their 



THE FIELD OF CON3feESSIOA/AL COV^/i/V/V/eA/r 




lahorZegis Jafion 
Suffrage. 

'igh w3yDe\/€lofmerzi 
Public Ownership 
Socialism 
Single Tax 
Prohlbiiiorz 
5oci3? Queslions 
fdscbinery of6cv. 

Conservalion Issues 
■Darkened. Space -Poriiorr of Field. light Spaces-Can sideraiiort 

Occupiedby PoliliciariS for Political Given Economic and- Gov- 
Ends. ermnenisl Questions. 

A diagram showing to what extent many Congressmen give attention to 
political, personal, and local interests as against real public questions. 

districts. Many Congressmen spend much of their time and 
energy in "playing politics," in seeking to get offices and favors 
.for their friends and supporters, and in trying to get appro- 
priations passed that will cause public money to be spent in 
their districts. The appropriations for government buildings 
in different parts of the country, for private claims, for the 
improvement of rivers and harbors, and for other govern- 
mental projects, have become a source of waste, extravagance, 
and log-rolUng. Members, without any regard to the public 
welfare, seek to get as much of this money as they can for 
their own localities, and often will vote for a bill, however 



THE HOUSE 299 

extravagant and wasteful, if by it a good sum of the public 
money is to be spent among their own constituents. Members 
combine to vote for one another's local interests in passing 
these wasteful appropriation bills. 

This is called "cutting the Congressional pie," or "dis- 
tributing the pork." The whole amount to be appropriated 
for pubHc buildings, for the improvement of rivers and harbors, 
and for private pensions and claims, is called the "Pork 
Barrel." The amount of "pork" a member brings home to 
his constituents depends upon the bargains he can make and 
on his position and influence with reference to the proper 
committees. His constituents are prone to forgive him even 
if he does sacrifice the interest of the whole country provided 
he gets a lot of money for their local benefit. So "pork 
barrel" combinations are made among representatives from 
different parts of the country by which this distribution of 
government money is carried out, without much regard to 
the interest of the country as a whole, — somewhat after the 
manner of "log-rolling." The National Voters' League says: 

The whole system of appropriating money for public buildings 
betrays the shameless manner in which public funds are squandered 
in order that political patronage may be distributed to communities 
which are either so lacking in moral consciousness as to be objects 
of pity, or else so frankly out for "pork" as to be objects of contempt. 
"Pork" is a national disease. It debauches both Congressman and 
constituency, and is the most subtle and sinister form of degenerat- 
ing influence to which a government may become exposed. There is 
nothing in our governmental machinery so vicious and depraving as 
"pork." 

Such abuses in government arise from time to time and public 
opinion must be relied upon to bring about their reform. 

TOPICS AND QUERIES 

I. What would be the objection to electing the representatives to 
Congress from a State as presidential electors are elected, all at 
large on a common ticket? 



300 THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 

2. Show the political injustice of gerrymandering. What remedies 

can you propose for it? 

3. Debate: " Resolved, that the American practice of requiring mem- 

bers of Congress to reside in their districts is not so good as the 
English practice of allowing a freer and wider choice." 

4. What are the causes and remedies for " pork " legislation? How 

does such legislation affect both the Congressman and his con- 
stituents? How would you use the public funds squandered 
in this way? 

5. Debate: "Resolved, that members of Congress are less to blame 

for pork legislation than their constituents." 

6. Compare the committee system in the house of representatives 

with the committee system in the House of Commons. Read 
Bryce's American Commonwealth, Vol. I, Chap. XV, "The 
Committees of Congress"; Woodburn's American Republic, pp. 
279-288. 

7. How could saving be brought about by the " Budget System "? 

Would it help to save the "pork"? How? 

REFERENCES 

Consult the books named at the close of Chap. IV. Use also McLaugh- 
lin and Hart's Cyclopedia of Government, noting the articles on 
"Congress," "Speaker," "Whip," "Gerrymander," "Caucus," 
"Filibustering," "Cloture Rule," "Committee System," "Riders," 
"Pairing." Miss M. P. Follett's The Speaker of the House, H. B. 
Fuller's Speakers of the House, and McConachie's Committee 
System of the House are special volumes bearing on the topics of 
this chapter. Lynn Haines's Your Congress is a recent little book 
which throws much light on the inside working of Congress, on the 
methods and forces employed in the "game of politics," telling how 
"patronage," "pork," "politics" and "pull" work the congressional 
system. This is published by the "National Voters' League," 
which also publishes the Searchlight, a periodical which discusses 
the practical workings of Congress and seeks to turn the light of 
publicity on Congressional abuses and shortcomings. If one would 
keep posted on the real life of Congress one should use this material 
and read the Washington correspondence and the articles on the 
doings of Congress in Collier's Weekly, The Outlook, The Indepen- 
dent, and Review of the Reviews, Current Opinion, The Literary Digest, 
and similar magazines. 



CHAPTER XVI 

THE RELATION OF THE PRESIDENT TO CONGRESS: 
THE CABINET AND THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS 

How THE President may Influence Congress 

Apart from his party leadership and the party cooperation 
of which we have spoken the President may influence Congress 
in various ways: 

1. By his messages to Congress. Under Washington and 
John Adams, the President addressed the two houses of Con- 
gress at the opening of a session. This was a formal affair 
like the king's address from the throne, the President appearing 
in state and the members of the two houses marching in pro- 
cession to the hall. Jefferson abolished this custom and sent 
in a written message as being more in harmony with democratic 
simplicity.^ President Wilson, after more than a hundred 
years, revived the custom of speaking, not for form's sake, 
but as a more direct and effective way of impressing his views 
and policies upon Congress. He felt that in coming face to 
face with Congress he was brought into closer touch and into 
a better understanding with that body. President Wilson 
has addressed Congress not only in the annual message but at 
such special times as he has felt disposed. 

2. By calling Congress into extraordinary session. The 
President may call Congress for a particular purpose. Con- 
gress is not bound to act upon his suggestion, but if it adjourns 
without acting he may call it into session again, and in this 
way he may "hold Congress down" to the work he would Hke 
to see accomplished. 

^ Jefferson's enemies said that this was done because he was not a good 
public speaker, though he was a very effective writer. 

301 



302 THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 

3. By his veto power. The knowledge which the Presi- 
dent may give out that he will veto certain legislation may 
lead to its being modified to suit the President's views. The 
President might use this power for party or political reason, 
by letting it be known that he would veto or approve measures 
that certain members of Congress were interested in, as a 
means of influencing their votes on other measures. This 
would be an unbecoming kind of bargaining, or "log-rolling," 
in politics. 

4. By communications, through the Cabinet, with con- 
gressional committees or their chairmen. Cabinet officers 
are not members of the legislature, as they are in England, 
and they may not appear on the floor of Congress to advo- 
cate their measures and recommendations. This is merely 
a custom, or law of the unwritten constitution; there is 
nothing in the written constitution to forbid it, and Hamilton, 
as Secretary of the Treasury, proposed to appear in Congress 
to explain and defend his financial measures, but Congress 
called for a written report instead. If Hamilton had ap- 
peared on the floor of Congress, the precedent might have 
been followed in later years. It may, of course, be changed 
at any time. But Cabinet officers may appear before the 
committees and use effective influence there by personal 
recommendations and arguments, as well as by private inter- 
views with members of the committee. If the Cabinet officer 
succeeds in persuading the committee he is Hkely to win 
his cause. 

5. By the use of the executive patronage. This refers to 
the President's power of appointment and his control of the 
offices. The President may give places to Congressmen or 
their friends if they will consent to support his policy in Con- 
gress, and he may withhold appointments from those who 

The President j-efuse. This is, of course, a form of bribery and may be a 

and Patronage r • • -p t-> • 1 • 

source of serious corruption, if a President is so unscrupulous 
as to attempt to promote legislation in this way. This would 




PiffiSiDENT's Room at the Capitol, Washington, D. C. 



THE RELATION OF THE PRESIDENT TO CONGRESS 303 

lead Congressmen to vote not according to their own con- 
science and judgment as to the merits of a bill but according 
to the party or other interests. The President has millions 
to bestow in the form of offices and salaries. It was in this 
corrupt way that English kings, by the places and favors at 
their command, controlled Parliament and exercised executive 
tyranny. 

How Congress may Influence the President 

On the other hand Congress has various means of influencing 
the President: 

1. By resolution, condemning or censuring him for a cer 
tain course. This may not lead the President to alter his 
course but it is likely to lead him to defend his policy, as 
President Jackson did against the censure of the Senate in 1833. 

2. By an investigating committee. Such a committee 
may be appointed to inquire into the conduct of an executive 
department or to expose its misconduct, or to embarrass the 
President, and to get political campaign material against 
him. The committee may summon a Cabinet officer to appear 
before it. He may refuse to appear, as the Secretaries are 
responsible to the President and not to Congress. But the 
President may seek to avoid investigation and annoyance by 
cooperation with Congress if possible. 

3. Congress may refuse legislation requested by the Presi- 
dent as a means of causing him to yield to the wishes of Con- 
gress. This would be like "hitting back" at a President who 
had given notice of his intention to veto a bill as a means of 
bringing Congress to his terms. 

4. By impeachment. A hostile Congress may watch 
closely for opportunities to bring impeachment proceedings, 
and the President wiU be careful not to give ground therefor. 
This is a heavy weapon to use and will be brought into use only 
in extraordinary cases. It is not likely to succeed when applied 
for political purposes. 



304 THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 

5. Congress may by law restrict the scope of executive acts. 
The law may require a certain course of the President and 
his Cabinet officers, laying down a strict course of action and 
forbidding them to do what hitherto they had been left free 
to do. The President may veto such acts, but if they are 
passed over his veto, he is bound to obey them no matter if 
he thinks they are unconstitutional. He must enforce them 
until they are overthrown by the courts. He may seek to 
have a test case brought before the courts to bring about the 
overthrow of the objectionable acts, but he would be subject 
to impeachment if he violated them. 

6. Congress holds the powers of the purse. It may with- 
hold an appropriation necessary to carry out the President's 
policy, and by this means it may bring influence and pressure 
to bear on the President. If the President wished to buy 
territory, Congress could refuse the money. But while the 
President remains within the usual range of his constitu- 
tional powers. Congress is not likely to try to control him 
in this way. 

7. By the use of the "rider" on an appropriation bill 
(see p. 296). 

These weapons of defense and offense which the executive 
and legislative departments of the Government may employ 
against one another remind us that these departments of the 
government are frequently unable to act in harmony and that 
they are sometimes engaged in trying to circumvent and defeat 
one another. Under our system of a fixed term for President 
and Congress this condition frequently comes to pass, — when 
the President and Congress are of different parties. Many 
How Executive Americans think it would be better if we had the English 

and Legislative . . - i • 1 1 t-> • i ^ 

are harmonized System of the responsible ministry, by which the President 
might dissolve Congress and appeal to the people by a fresh 
election if it refused to sustain him and by which he would 
have to resign if the people sustained Congress. But the 
system as we have it under the so-called "separation of the 



THE RELATION OF THE PRESIDENT TO CONGRESS 30^ 

powers" is coming to be more and more workable by dis- 
regarding the theory through the operation of party forces, 
and thus harmony between the legislative and executive 
branches is more regularly maintained. By party leadership 
and unity President and Congress work together, and the 
people, when they elect a President, are more disposed to elect 
with him, and maintain for him through his term a Congress 
that will sustain his policies. The people cannot so readily 
change the Senate to bring about this harmony, but with one 
third of the senate now subject to popular election every 
two years there is a marked tendency in this direction. 

The Presidential Succession 

The Vice President has two functions. One is to preside 
over the senate; the other is to succeed to the presidency 
in case the President dies. He is not a member of the senate 
and therefore he has no vote, except in case of a tie, which 
is very rare. His office is ceremonial, of some dignity and 
honor but of no power, and not of political importance 
except in the possibility of his succession to the presidency. 
The office is a constant subject of jocose remark, and it is said 
that to elect a man to the Vice Presidency is equivalent to 
retiring him to a place where he can do no harm. He has 
no responsibility and nothing to do except to preside in the 
Senate, whose proceedings he cannot in the least influence or 
direct. But should the President die, the Vice President 
becomes the most important man in the country. So, as 
Mr. Bryce says, he is "aut nullus, aut Caesar"; he is either 
nothing at all or the ruler of the land. The political party, 
when it nominates its national ticket, seems to expect with 
confidence that its candidate for President will not only be 
elected but will live out his four years. The delegates in 
convention take too little care in selecting a man for Vice 
President. They take into consideration the section of the 
country from which the candidate comes or the faction of 



The Vice 
President 



3o6 THE "CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 

the party to which he belongs, using the office as a sop to the 
defeated faction in the contest for the presidency, but they 
do not carefully consider whether the man is fit to be Presi- 
dent. Five times in our history the President has died in 
office and the Vice President has succeeded to his place. No 
man should be named for the second office whom the party, 
and the country would be unwilling to have in the first. 
Congress may designate by law who shall succeed to the 
The Presiden- Presidency if both the President and Vice President should 

tial Succession 

die in a single term. This has never yet occurred, but pro- 
vision has been made for it. By a law of 1792 the president 
pro tem of the senate was to become President and after him 
the Speaker of the House. Objections arose to this plan. 
It would bring legislative leaders into the executive office 
and was not unlikely to bring a leader of a different party 
from the one chosen by the people, who could reverse the poli- 
cies for which the people had voted. Also there might be 
months at a time in the recess of Congress or before a new 
Congress meets when there would be no Speaker of the 
House or president pro tem of the Senate. 

In view of these objections Congress in 1886 passed the 
present Presidential Succession Act, which provides for the 
succession of the Cabinet officers in the following order: 
I. Secretary of State. 2. Secretary of the Treasury. 3. Secre- 
tary of War. 4. Attorney General. 5. Postmaster General. 
6. Secretary of the Navy. 7. Secretary of the Interior. The 
remaining three departments, — Agriculture, Commerce, and 
Labor have been made Cabinet departments since 1886, but 
have not been included in the succession to the presidency. 

The Cabinet 

The President's Cabinet consists of the ten heads of the 
executive departments, as follows: 
The Secretary of State. The Secretary of War. 

The Secretary of the Treasury. The Attorney General. 



2 o 




THE RELATION OF THE PRESIDENT TO CONGRESS 307 



The Postmaster General. 

The Secretary of the Navy. 
The Secretary of the Interior. 



The Secretary of Agriculture. 
The Secretary of Commerce. 
The Secretary of Labor. 



These heads of departments are appointed by the President, 
the Senate confirming his choice without question. 

The Cabinet officer has two functions: i. To preside 
over his department and to be responsible for its management 
by the control and direction of his subordinates. 2. To meet 
in council with the President and the other members of the 
Cabinet, to advise the President on all matters of public policy 
that may be brought up. The President and his Cabinet make 
up the Administration and they "put their heads together" 
in council to decide on what is the best course to pursue in 
the direction of public affairs. The members of the Cabinet 
are responsible to the President, and whatever policy is decided 
upon is the President's policy. He may retain or remove them 
at will; Congress cannot keep a Cabinet member in office 
nor cause his removal. The President is responsible to the 
nation for what the Administration does and in a Cabinet meet- 
ing his vote in any decision outweighs all the rest, — if he insists 
upon his own judgment.^ The President may yield his own 
judgment to that of the majority, but if he does not see fit 
to do so and stands firmly by his own policy, then it is the duty 
of the Secretaries to yield their judgment and support the 
President in the course he decides to take. If any one of them 
cannot conscientiously do so he should resign and let some 
one take his place who will support the President. 

When Jackson's Secretary of the Treasury refused to 
carry out a policy in his department which the President 
desired (the removal of the deposits from the Second United 
States Bank) and also refused to resign, Jackson removed 

^ A story is told of the way Lincoln announced a Cabinet vote. 
"The vote stands 7 noes, i aye. The ayes have it." He had voted 
"aye" and meant to insist upon his Cabinet members supporting his 
policy. 



Functions of 
the Cabinet 
Officer 



Relation of the 
Cabinet Officer 
to the 
President 



3o8 



THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 



The 

Homogeneous 

Cabinet 



The 

Constitution 
and the 
Cabinet 



him and appointed a Secretary who was in harmony with the 
President's policy and would carry out his will. It has been 
undisputed since Jackson's time that a Cabinet ofi&cer is sub- 
ordinate to the President, and his policies may be controlled 
by the President. 

The Cabinet in America does not stand or fall together as 
in England, but each individual member is appointed or re- 
moved separately, for whatever political or sectional support 
he may bring to the Administration. The President, of 
course, always shows personal deference and respect to the 
opinions of his Secretaries, often yielding his own views to 
theirs, and he seldom interferes with the management of 
their departments. But for malfeasance or inefficiency in a 
department the country would hold the President respon- 
sible, and when a public policy is to be carried before the 
country the Cabinet must be politically united; it must be 
"homogeneous" in opinion and purpose. Of course, the ten 
members may never all agree with the President or with one 
another on any subject, but when a decision is made opinions 
must be yielded and differences reconciled, or the Adminis- 
tration and the Cabinet would be divided and disrupted. 
In ordinary times a President makes up his Cabinet entirely 
from one party for this reason. 

The Cabinet as we now have it was not created by the Con- 
stitution. Each department is created by law, but the Cabinet 
as a council has grown up by custom. All the Constitution 
says about it is: "The President may require the opinion 
in writing of the principal officer in each of the executive 
departments upon any subject relating to the duties of their 
respective offices." Thus all that seems to have been con- 
templated was that the President should consult the heads of 
the several departments separately, asking their advice in 
writing, and following this advice, or not, as he chose. Wash- 
ington frequently pursued this practice. 

Each of the executive departments is divided into bureaus, 



THE RELATION OF THE PRESIDENT TO CONGRESS 309 

and each bureau into divisions. Each bureau and division 
has a chief. There are usually first, second, third, and fourth 
assistant, to the secretaries. The assistants are not so department 

Divisions 

well known to the public, but are usually the more permanent 
officers in the departments who manage the administrative 
business. They are the connecting and continuing links 
between successive administrations. They have more expert 
knowledge of the details and subordinate work required, but 
it is seldom that an assistant secretary is promoted to the 
secretaryship, since the political character of the Cabinet 
member is of importance. Secretary Lansing, the first 
assistant secretary, was made Secretary of State upon Mr. 
Bryan's resignation in 191 5 from President Wilson's Cabinet in 
an international crisis, a rather unusual promotion. It is not 
unusual for such an assistant to serve under successive Presi- 
dents of different parties. Their functions are not political 
and it may be noticed that the purely administrative and non- 
political functions of the Cabinet officer and especially of his 
subordinates are assuming larger proportions and importance. 

The Department of State 

The Secretary of State is the leading officer in the Cabinet. 
He is sometimes called the Premier of the Administration. 
He is the President's "right-hand man," sitting in the seat of 
honor at the right of the President at the Cabinet table. He 
is usually a political figure of commanding importance and is 
often chosen for his political influence and party leadership. 
President Lincoln appointed Secretary Seward, his chief rival 
for the presidential nomination, and President Wilson ap- 
pointed Mr. Bryan, whose influence and leadership in the 
Democratic party had promoted President Wilson's nomination 
and election. Mr. Bryan was a powerful political aid in rally- 
ing a united party to the support of President Wilson's policies. 

It is the duty of the State department to receive and record 
acts of Congress, to sign and to attach the great seal of State, 



310 



THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 



Work of the 

State 

Department 



Ambassadors 
and Ministers 



and to make public the proclamations of the President. His 
department is the organ of communication between the national 
Government and the States upon the one hand and between the 
national Government and foreign powers on the other. The 
Secretary of State is the minister for foreign affairs. He 
manages the Diplomatic Bureau and the Consular Bureau, 
appointing, under the President, ambassadors, ministers, and 
consuls to foreign countries, and receiving and introducing 
to the President like ofi&cers from them. The spoUs system 
is being eliminated from the diplomatic and consular service, 
as recent events have demonstrated the need of trained and 
expert officials in the foreign service of the country. 

There are several grades of the Diplomatic Service, the 
order being Ambassador, Minister Plenipotentiary and Envoy 
Extraordinary, and Minister Resident. The Charge d'AJfaires 
is a diplomatic subordinate who has temporary charge of 
diplomatic affairs during the absence or illness of his superior 
officer. In eleven of the principal countries of the world the 
American diplomatic representative is known as Ambassador.^ 
This title serves to give equal rank and recognition with the 
ministers of other countries. These American representa- 
tives at foreign capitals are charged with the duty and re- 
sponsibility of safe-guarding the interests of their country, 
cultivating friendly relations, protecting American citizens, 
and using their good offices to promote the interest of Ameri- 
cans who may be traveling or residing abroad. They deal 
with international affairs, questions of public law, and con- 
troversies that may arise between nations. They should 
never take part in any way with the politics or internal dif- 
ferences of the country to which they are accredited.^ 

^ Great Britain, Russia, Germany, France, Italy, Austria-Hungary, 
Mexico, Japan, Spain, Turkey, Brazil, 

^ The salaries of our diplomatic representatives vary from $4000 for 
Ministers Resident to $17,500 for Ambassadors. Other countries, as a 
rule, pay much more. The social and diplomatic expenses at foreign 
capitals are so great that only men who can draw liberally upon their 





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THE RELATION OF THE PRESIDENT TO CONGRESS 31 1 

The Consular Service is another branch of Government 
service in foreign countries. The Consul deals with com- 
mercial or business affairs. He seeks to cultivate trade and 
attends to certain business and personal interests of our 
citizens abroad. He seeks to aid his Government in carrying 
out its immigration and naturalization laws, and to collect 
information on trade, industries, and markets. There are 
several grades in the consular service, — Consuls- General (in 
important foreign capitals) — Consuls, and Consular Agents. 
Consular appointments were formerly made as a reward for 
party and political service, but now civil service examinations 
are held for Consular Agents, and promotions and appoint- 
ments to the higher posts are made more generally on a basis 
of fitness and merit. Men are sought for these posts who 
have had special training in languages and business experience. 

The Department of State also has charge of the Bureau bureau of 

Ax chives fljid 

of Archives and the Bureau of Citizenship. The former is citizenship 
charged with keeping the records and foreign correspondence 
of the nation. The latter issues passports or certificates of 
citizenship (upon the payment of a fee of one dollar) to 
persons who desire them while living or traveling abroad. 
Passports may be issued not only to persons who five in the 
United States but to the inhabitants (subjects) of our island 
possessions and to aliens who have declared their intention 
to become citizens of America. 

Department of the Treasury 

This department has charge of the national finances. It 
oversees the public funds, the revenue laws, the currency and 
banking laws, and all auditing of accounts. The Bureau of 
Engraving and Printing, the construction of pubHc buildings, 

private incomes can afford to accept these appointments. The honor and 
distinction, together with the opportunity for important service, are held 
to be the chief compensation. 



312 THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 

the life-saving service, the marine hospital business, also fall 
under the administration of this Department. 

The Treasurer of the United States (a different ofl&cer from 
the Secretary of the Treasury) is the custodian of the Govern- 
ment funds. It is his business to receive and disburse pubHc 
moneys on the proper warrants. Besides the treasury at 
Washington there are subtreasuries at New York, Philadelphia, 
Baltimore, Cincinnati, Chicago, St. Louis, New Orleans, and 
San Francisco which are agencies for the receipt and expendi- 
ture of public money. Certain national banks throughout 
the country are now also designated as Government depositories 
and they receive from Postmasters the Postal Savings deposits. 

The Register of the Treasury issues and signs all United 
States bonds and all transfers of bonds and funds. The 
Comptroller of the Treasury has the oversight of the national 
banking system. He oversees the organization of a new bank, 
sees that its capital stock is fully paid, that United States 
bonds to secure its circulating notes are deposited in the 
United States Treasury, and that there are regular and care- 
ful examinations of all national banks and that public reports 
are made as to their condition. Numerous bank examiners 
throughout the States are appointed for this purpose, their 
salaries being paid by charges (fees) upon the banks. 

The Comptroller also attends to forms of accounts. He 

may be called upon to make important decisions as to the 

validity of payments, and the disbursing officer is bound by 

these decisions unless a court reverses them. A number of 

Auditors are engaged in examining and settling claims. No 

public officer may legally pay out money except on the proper 

vouchers, and he cannot be credited with the payment until 

his account has been audited and approved. 

The Mint and jj^ ^j^js department there is a Director of the Mint to ad- 
its Director . ^. y^^- r 

mmister the comage laws and assay offices. Mmts for commg 
money are established at Philadelphia, Denver, San Francisco, 
and New Orleans. The Assaying Offices are for determining 



4: ^L^ifci-^' - —""-^ 








State, War, and Navy Departments, Washington, D. C. 




nillllllJ J J^ 



^It: 




Department of Agriculture, Washington, D. C. 




Patent Office, Washington, D. C. 




The Treasury Department, Washington, D. C. 




A Silver Vault, U. S. Treasury, Washington, D. C. 



THE RELATION OF THE PRESIDENT TO CONGRESS 313 

the fineness and purity of bullion. They exist in New York, 
St. Louis, Deadwood, Helena, Boise, Carson City, Salt Lake, 
Seattle, and Charlotte. 

The Bureau of Engraving and Printing attends to the engrav- 
ing and printing of all forms of government notes, bonds, coins, 
banknotes, all internal revenue stamps and postage stamps, 
drafts and checks, and forms of Government certificates. 

There is a Supervising Architect in this department whose 
duty it is to select and purchase sites for Government build- 
ings, — Federal court house, post office buildings, custom- 
houses, etc. He awards contracts and attends to the leasing 
of buildings. 

A Secret Service is connected with the Treasury Department 
consisting of a number of detectives who are employed to detect 
frauds and crimes against the Government, such as counter- 
feiting and selling "green goods" and "moonshining." 

"Moonshining" relates to the illegal distilleries that are 
sometimes run in concealed places, usually in backwoods and 
mountain regions, to escape the internal revenue tax on liquors. 
"Moonshine whisky" is usually made at night, and it oc- 
casionally happens that United States revenue officers have a 
hard time running these stills down and putting them out of 
business. "Green goods" men are the counterfeiters who run 
their outfits in dark and out-of-the-way places, often in the 
larger cities, selling their "goods" at a low rate on the dollar. 
Their work is at times so skillfully done that even the expert 
agents in Washington have difficulty in detecting the counter- 
feit fraud. But as a rule with n a comparatively short time 
the United States Government succeeds in running down and 
imprisoning these outlaws and criminals who defy its authority. 

The War Department 

This department has charge of all army affairs, the national 
defense, seacoast fortifications, river and harbor improve- 
ments and obstructions to navigation, the National Military 



314 THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 

Academy at West Point, army posts, camps and schools of 
instruction, military parks and cemeteries. The War De- 
partment has many bureaus, with their various ofi&cers and 
chiefs. 

The school at West Point was founded in 1802. One 
student, or cadet, is appointed to West Point from each 
Congressional District, usually on the nomination of the dis- 
trict's representative in Congress. All candidates for admis- 
sion must pass rigid examinations, mental and physical. 
Each cadet has $600 a year for his expenses during the course 
of four years. The graduates are numbered in rank according 
to their class standing and are made second Heutenants in 
the army. Those of the highest standing may have appoint- 
ments in the engineering corps if they choose. The super- 
intendent and teachers in the academy are officers in the 
regular army. 
'^^^ In order to unite the Bureaus under one general directing 

staff body and to secure harmony and efficiency in the administra- 

tion of the many activities of the War Department, Congress 
in 1903 created the General Staff. This consists of officers 
taken from all arms of the service, — infantry, cavalry, ar- 
tillery, engineers, etc. It is the business of this body to 
supervise all military agencies, the officers in charge of troops 
(line officers) as well as those in charge of bureaus (staff 
officers). The Chief of Staff is at the head of this organization 
and of the army. The Chief is always an army officer and 
he is appointed by the President for a term of four years. 
The Bureau of Supply now combines what was formerly 
the Quartermaster's, the Commissary's and the Paymaster's 
Bureaus. The work of this division is to clothe and feed 
the army, pay it, and provide for its necessities. To be able 
to move an army, to provide it with food and shelter, not to 
speak of comfort, is in large part the measure of a nation's 
success in war. Success in war depends upon success in ad- 
ministration and management. The General Staff directs 



THE RELATION OF THE PRESIDENT TO CONGRESS 315 

many other agencies necessary in the conduct of war — the 
medical service, inspection of posts, signal service, ordnance 
service, aviation service, insular service, etc.^ 

The Navy Department 

The Navy Department, created in 1798, like the War De- 
partment, has its several bureaus, — of Navigation, Yards and 
Docks, Equipment, and Ordnance. As in the War Depart- 
ment, Naval officers are in charge of these bureaus. The 
names of the bureaus will serve to indicate the matters in 
charge of each. The Navy also has its law officer (Judge 
Advocate General). The Naval Academy at AnnapoHs, 
Maryland, corresponds to the military school at West Point, 
and appointments to it are obtained in the same way. The 
Naval Academy was founded in 1846, while the noted his- 
torian, George Bancroft, was Secretary of the Navy. The 
midshipmen are given instruction in gunnery, naval con- 
struction, engineering, mathematics, international law, and 
modern languages. After the four years course the "middies" 
are sent to sea for two years and then receive subordinate 
appointments in the navy. 

The Department of Justice 

This department was not created until 1870 and is presided 
over by the Attorney General, who was, however, a member 
of the first Cabinet. The Attorney General is the legal adviser 
to the President and he represents the United States in cases 
before its courts. He has supervision over United States 
Attorneys and marshals. He, or one of his subordinates, 
institute prosecutions and proceedings against persons and 
corporations charged with violations of United States Law. 

The Government has a Secret Service whose business it is "^^^ Secret 

. , . Service 

to punish and prevent violations of the law. It works on 

^ See an article on "Army Organization," by C. D. Wilcox in Harper's 
Magazine, November, 191 7. 



3i6 THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 

cases where a secret detective service is needed. For the 
Post Office Department it detects mail thefts and robberies; 
for the Interior Department, it exposes pension frauds and 
frauds in land sales and land claims; for the Treasury De- 
partment, it hunts out violations and evasions of the tax 
laws and coinage laws, such as smuggling, moonshining, and 
counterfeiting. It keeps track of all known smugglers and 
their schemes, and its agents in foreign countries report to 
our customs officers unusual purchases of jewelry, silks, laces, 
and other dutiable goods whose owners are likely to try to 
get them into the country without paying duties. Secret 
Service agents protect the President from attack or injury. 
The Department of Justice, which prosecutes the law vio- 
lators, has a secret service of its own, and especially in time 
of war its activities are vigorous and effective in arresting 
spies; in detecting the schemes of alien enemies within our 
borders; finding correspondence and documents to expose 
the crooked diplomacy and plots of the enemy; prevent- 
ing sedition and treasonable utterances, and protecting the 
country and the Government from secret and lurking foes. 

The Post Office Department 

The Postmaster General presides over this department. He 
has general charge of postal affairs. All postmasters are his 
subordinates whom he appoints and may remove, subject to 
the control of the President.^ The four Assistant Postmasters 
General supervise different departments of the postal service. ^ 

The Department of the Interior 

This department was created in 1849. In numbers its 
employees rank second only to the Treasury Department, and 
in services to the people it is second only to the Post Office 

^ Post offices paying less than $1000 are not in the presidential class 
and are managed by a separate bureau. 

2 For recent services and activities of the Post Office Department 
see p. 78. 



THE RELATION OF THE PRESIDENT TO CONGRESS 317 



Department. It has charge of the following affairs of the 
national Government: (i) Public lands; (2) Indian affairs; 
(3) Pensions; (4) Patents; (5) The geological survey. 

The General Land Office has charge of all public lands and 
their survey and disposal, and of all forest reserves. The 
national policy towards public lands is a large and important 
topic in American history. 

Indian affairs do not now require as large an amount of 
Government attention as formerly. Indian lands have been 
largely "alotted in severalty" to individual members of the 
tribes, and the policy now being pursued will soon extinguish 
all Indian tribes and merge their members into the common 
body of American citizenship. The Federal Government 
maintains several schools for the education of the Indians, 
the best known being the one at Carlisle, Pennsylvania. 

The Pension Bureau is under the Interior Department. 
This involves a vast amount of business. Pension payments 
involve the largest single item of national expense to the 
national Government. The total expense for pensions from 
1789 to the Civil War did not equal one half of what is now 
expended every year. The Commissioner of Pensions reported 
in 191 5 that there were, fifty years after the close of the Civil 
War, still 900,000 names on the pension rolls, and a late 
Congressional appropriation for pensions was $162,000,000. 

All examinations and adjudications of claims fall within 
this bureau, and there are many pension agencies and thou- 
sands of medical examiners throughout the country connected 
with the bureau. Pensioners are paid in nearly every city 
and village in the land through the pension agencies, whose 
officers send the vouchers to the pensioners which are cashed 
by local post offices and banks. 

In the World War a system of war insurance has been sub- 
stituted for pensions, by which the soldiers may be insured 
at a low cost. If disabled they are assured a fair income; 
if killed their dependents receive a liberal support. 



General 
Land Office 



Indian 
ASairs 



Pension 
Bureau 



3i8 



THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 



Bureau of 
Education 



Geological 
Survey 



The Bureau of Education, established in 1867, has a Com- 
missioner whose duty it is to collect and distribute statistics 
and information concerning the educational facts, methods, 
and institutions of the country. Education is chiefly a 
State function. The nation has no schools except for special 
national purposes (military, naval, Indian). The colleges of 
Agriculture and Mechanical Arts are controlled and adminis- 
tered by the States, but are assisted by the United States. 
The Commissioner of Education has the distribution of the 
the funds appropriated for these schools. 

The Geological Survey, established in 1879, is in the Depart- 
ment of the Interior. Its Director classifies the public lands, 
examines their geological structure, their mineral resources 
and mineral products, and surveys the forest reserves. Topo- 
graphical and geological maps are prepared by the Bureau, 
and in connection with the Bureau of Mines (established in 
191 1), mine accidents are investigated with a view to pre- 
vention, ores and explosives are made known, mineral fuels 
and structural materials are tested, and waters, on the surface 
and underground, are investigated. 

Department of Agriculture 

This department has existed since 1862, but was not made a 
Cabinet Department until 1889. It controls the Weather 
Bureau, the Bureau of Animal Husbandry, the Bureau of 
Plant Industry. The first forecasts the weather and gives 
notice of storms, cold waves, heat waves, frosts, and floods. 
The second inspects animals and meat products, inspects 
vessels offered for the transportation of animals, quarantines 
against diseases among live stock, and reports means of im- 
proving the animal industries of the country. The third con- 
siders plant life in relation to agriculture. It studies the 
diseases of plants and seeks to prevent them; it carries on 
demonstration farms in efforts to secure crop improvement 
and better methods of farming. Its agents explore foreign 



THE RELATION OF THE PRESIDENT TO CONGRESS 319 

countries for new plants and seeds and fruits, and for better 
methods in planting, harvesting, handling, and marketing. ^ 

The department also has a Bureau of Forestry and a Bureau 
of Chemistry. The first seeks to give information on conserving 
all forest lands, on forest planting and tree culture, and the 
prevention of forest fires. The Bureau of Chemistry inves- 
tigates fertilizers, agricultural products, and foodstuffs. It 
seeks to enforce the Pure Food Law of 1906 by examining 
foods and drugs and imposing penalties for adulteration or 
misbranding. 

Department or Commerce 

This department was made a separate department in 1903. 
It is charged with promoting commerce, mining, manufactur- 
ing, shipping, fisheries, and transportation. The department 
has under its charge (i) the Bureau of Corporations, which may 
investigate the conduct of any corporation engaged in in- 
terstate or foreign commerce (except railroads); (2) the 
Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce, charged with 
collecting and publishing statistics on these subjects and with 
promoting the commercial interests of the United States; 

(3) the Bureau of Lighthouses, to maintain protective signals; 

(4) the Steamboat Inspection Service, to inspect and license 
vessels to promote safety in navigation; (5) the Census 
Bureau, charged with compiling all the varied information 
contained in the decennial census ; (6) the Bureau of Fisheries, 
charged with the propagation of useful food fishes, the in- 
vestigation of fishing grounds and the care of Alaskan salmon 
fisheries and seal herds; (7) the Coast and Geodetic Survey, 
charged with surveying and charting the coasts ; (8) the Bureau 
of Navigation, charged with overseeing the commercial marine, 
issuing licenses, and collecting tonnage taxes ; (9) the Bureau of 
Standards, charged with testing and comparing all standards 
used in scientific investigations, in commerce and in educational 
institutions, with the standards adopted and recognized by 
the Government. 

^ See pp. 79-80. 



320 THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 

The Department of Labor 

In 1 9 13 the Department of Labor was made a separate 
department. It was combined with the Department of Com- 
merce from 1903 to 1913. The object of its creation was "to 
foster, promote, and develop the welfare of the wage earners of 
the United States, to improve their working conditions, and 
to advance their opportunities for profitable employment." 
In this department have been placed the Children's Bureau, 
the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Bureau of Immigration, 
and the Bureau of Naturalization. The Bureau of Labor 
Statistics is charged with the duty of collecting and reporting 
once a year "full and complete statistics of the conditions of 
labor and the products and distribution of the products of 
the same." The Children's Bureau, established in 191 2, 
investigates aU matters pertaining to the welfare of children 
and child life. 

Independent Bureaus and Institutions 

Besides those mentioned under the various executive de- 
partments there are a number of independent bureaus and 
institutions: 

The Smithsonian Institution, estabhshed in 1846, by the will 
of James Smithson, "for the increase and diffusion of knowl- 
edge among men." It seeks to promote original scientific 
research. 

The National Museum, organized to preserve objects of art, 
collections, and specimens relating to geology, ethnology, 
and mineralogy. 

The Civil Service Commission, charged with conducting the 
competitive examination of apphcants for appointment to 
the classified civil service. 

The Interstate Commerce Commission, of seven members, 
each receiving an annual salary of $10,000, for terms of seven 
years. This Commission, one of the most important under 



THE RELATION OF THE PRESIDENT TO CONGRESS 321 

the Government, was first established in 1887, and its 
powers were enlarged in 1906 and 19 10. It is composed of 
seven members, appointed by the President and confirmed by 
the Senate. It has power to fix maximum railway rates for 
freight and passenger traffic and to declare what rates are 
"reasonable." The Commission regulates all the inter-state 
business of what is known as "common carriers," — i.e. 
railways, trolley lines, freight cars, pullman sleepers, express 
companies, telephone and telegraph companies. If shippers 
complain of abuses, the Commission may investigate and 
obtain some remedy. Formerly there were discriminations 
in rates, secret rebates to favored corporations, and abuses 
in charges. Railroad companies owned stock in coal mines 
and stone quarries and gave their own companies special 
freight rates. These things are now illegal and punishable. 
Thus the Government through this Commission regulates 
the carriers and seeks to obtain fairness and justice to the 
public.^ 

The Federal Trade Commission consists of five members, 
appointed for terms of seven years by the President and the 
Senate. The Commission is authorized to investigate the 
methods of any person, partnership, or corporation not en- 
gaged in banking or railway business which has been or is 
using any unfair method of competition in commerce, if action 
to stop such method "would be of interest to the public." 
This power is subject to review in the Federal Courts. 

The Government Printing Office, charged with the printing, 
binding, and press work on all Government publications. 

The Library of Congress, a great reference library, the third 
largest collection of books in the world. 

1 For the period of the World War the Government has taken upon 
itself the operation and control of the Railroads and placed them under 
the Secretary of the Treasury. Rates, wages, meeting expenses, paying 
dividends on stock, and the general management of the roads is now the 
business of the Government. Whether this is to be a permanent policy 
wiU probably not be determined until after the war is ended. 



322 THE CITI2EN AND THE REPUBLIC 

TOPICS AND QUERIES 

1. What are the advantages in having the President and Congress 

in party harmony? What causes a lack of harmony? 

2. Are the opposition party leaders in Congress Justified in trying to 

"put the President in a hole"? Why do they seek to do so? 

3. Explain the evU results that come from the President's inducing 

members of Congress to support his policies by allowing them to 
control appointments to office. 

4. To what extent is the President justified in attempting to control, 

or lead, the action of Congress? Show how the relation of the 
President to Congress has changed since Washington's time. 
How do you account for the change? 
Notice the topics and queries at the close of the preceding chapter. 

REFERENCES 

For "Executive and Congress" consult Reinsch, Paul L. Readings on 
American Federal Government, Chap. Ill; on "Financial Legis- 
lation," Chap. VIII; on "The Departments," Chap. IX. 

Finley and Sanderson. The American Executive and Executive Methods, 
Chaps. XV-XVII. 

Forman, S. E. Advanced Civics, Chaps. XVIII, XIX. 

Guitteau, W. B. Government and Politics in the United States, Chap. 
XXVIII. 

Leup, Francis E. The Cabinet in Congress in Atlantic Monthly, Decem- 
ber, 1917. 

Macy and Ganaway. Comparative Free Government, Chap. VII, "The 
President and Legislation." Chap. VIII, "The President's 
Cabinet." Chap. IX, "National Administration." 

Wilson, Woodrow. Constitutional Government in the United States, 
Chap. III. 

Woodburn, James A. The American Republic, Chap. III. 

Young, J. T. The New American Government, Chaps, II, V. 



CHAPTER XVII 
THE JUDICIARY 

We have considered the executive and the legislative 
divisions of our government: the judiciary is the third divi- 
sion. Under the Old Confederation there was no national 
judiciary. Law suits were attended to in the States and dis- '"^^^ Supreme 

■' -^ Law of the 

putes between the States were settled by Congress or by a Land" 
committee of Congress. One of the most important changes 
made by the new Constitution came from making this "Con- 
stitution and the laws and treaties made in pursuance thereof 
the supreme law of the land" and in authorizing the erection 
of courts for trying, condemning, and punishing men for vio- 
lating national law. It was this fact more than anything else 
that made the new government a real government and made 
the citizens of the State also citizens of the United States and 
subject to its jurisdiction. Any laws the United States might 
pass would be a dead letter if there were no courts to expound 
their meaning or put them into operation by a system of 
pains and penalties. 

Under the Confederation the United States had to rely 
upon the States for the performance of these functions. If 
the Tories were to be restrained or restored to their estates; 
if debts due British merchants were to be collected; if our 
treaty agreements were to be enforced; or if anyone robbed the 
mail, counterfeited money, or threatened Congress with vio- 
lence, there were no national courts by which these things 
could be attended to or the criminals brought to justice. 
The State courts had to be called on for assistance in carrying 

323 



Lack of Law- 
enforcing 
Power in the 
Courts 
under the 
Confederation 



324 



THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 



National Law 
operates 
directly over 
Individuals 



out the law, and these were often ineffective, as the States were 
not anxious to have the national powers asserted and increased. 
No influence has been more powerful for nationalization, for 
establishing and enlarging the powers of the national Govern- 
ment, than the work of the judiciary in the operation of the 
national courts. The interpretation of the Constitution by 
the courts, and the notable decisions of John Marshall, the 
great Chief Justice (1801-1835), did more to reduce "States' 
rights" and to exalt national power than any other in- 
fluence in the early history of the Constitution, in the days 
when the new government was on trial in its experimental 
period. 

It was not only the greater powers of Congress and the in- 
creased vigor of the Executive which made the new government 
more effective than the Old Confederation and enabled it to 
assert its authority and to live in the face of a disposition in 
the States to resist that authority and dissolve the Union, 
but the national judiciary has done its full share in this direc- 
tion. The greater power of the new government came not 
from giving the United States the power to "coerce a State" 
or to veto the acts of the States. Both of these powers were 
proposed, but they were denied to the United States by the 
convention. But when the United States was empowered 
to enforce its own laws through its own courts, then vetoing a 
State law or coercing a State became unnecessary. If a State 
passes an act contrary to the national Constitution, the courts 
of the United States declare it unconstitutional; it is then 
no law at all and no one is bound by it. And if the govern- 
ment of a State, or the citizens of a State, attempt to resist 
the laws of the United States the United States Government 
may then lawfully proceed not to "coerce a State" but to 
suppress its own citizens in insurrection. So, through the 
courts, backed by the executive power, the United States 
acts directly upon its citizens. The citizen owes allegiance 
not only to the State but to the United States. 



THE JUDICIARY 



325 



Kinds of Federal Courts 

The judicial power of the United States is vested in one 
Supreme Court and in such inferior courts as Congress may 
from time to time estabhsh. The small States did not wish 
to allow the creation of any lower national courts. They 
claimed that nearly all the legal business would belong to the 
State courts and there would be but little for the national 
courts to do. It was thought that the courts of the United 
States would be only appellate in their jurisdiction; that is, 
they would try only such cases as were appealed from the 
State courts, and it was contended that the Supreme Court 
would be able to attend to all such cases. The growth of 
national interests and national law was not foreseen. 

The Justices of the Supreme Court and also the Judges of 
the inferior courts are appointed by the President and con- 
firmed by the Senate. The Justices of the Supreme Court 
are now nine in number (originally six), a Chief Justice with 
a salary of $15,000 and eight Associate Justices with salaries 
of $14,500 each. The judges of the courts hold their offices 
during life, or good behavior. They are removable only by 
impeachment. The compensation for their services may 
not be. diminished during their continuance in office. The 
judge should be independent and not be led to rely on the favor 
or power of, or be subservient in any way to, any other arm of 
the government. 

There are three classes of Federal Courts: i. The Supreme 
Court. 2. Circuit or Courts of Appeal. 3. District Courts.^ 
The Supreme Court is required by the Constitution. The 
creation of other courts was left to the discretion of Congress. 
There are now twenty-nine United States Circuit Judges, 
and ninety-one District Judges. The Circuit Judges have a 
salary of $7000, the District Judges $6000. A United States 

1 There is also a Court of Claims, erected after the Civil War to pass 
upon claims against the United States Government. 



Where Is the 
Judicial Power 
vested? 



Appointment, 
Tenure and 
Compensation : 
Independence 
of the Judiciary 



Classes of 
Federal Courts 



326 



THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 



judge who has served at least ten years may retire at the age 
of seventy and continue to draw his full salary for the rest 
of his life. 

Work of the Federal Courts 

There are several kinds of cases coming within the juris- 
diction of the Federal courts. In general they were intended 
to be only those relating to the peace and common interest 
Kinds of Cases gf ^]^g Union and interstate and foreign affairs, such as cases 

coming under . " ' 

Federal Courts affecting ambassadors and consuls, sea cases touching prizes 
and piracy, and controversies to which the United States is 
a party or between two or more States, or between a State 
and citizens of another State, or between citizens of different 
States.^ This left the great body of ordinary law cases to 
the State courts. But the general provision was made that 
"all cases of law and equity" to which the Constitution, 
laws and treaties of the United States apply may be tried 
in the United States courts. Under this provision the scope 
of national powers and jurisdiction has been greatly en- 
larged. A case arising in a State court may be transferred 
to a Federal court if either party to the suit questions the 
decision of the State court and if the case is one to which 
national law applies. 

The rule for transferring cases from State to Federal courts 
was laid down by the Judiciary Act of 1789. If the State 
court has decided against the validity of a Federal law or 
authority or if a State court has decided in favor of a State 
law or authority which is held to be contrary to the Con- 
stitution and laws of the United States, or if the State court 
decision is against any right or privilege which either party 
to the suit claims for himseK under the laws and Constitution 
of the United States, then the case may be transferred to the 
Federal court for trial or review. Thus the Federal court has 
a chance to assert its final authority and vindicate the national 



When Cases 
may be 
transferred 
from State to 
Federal Courts 



^ See Const., Art. Ill, Sect. 2. 



The Eleventh 
Amendment : 



THE JUDICIARY 327 

power. The principle is that State construction unfavorable 
to Federal authority may be reviewed by Federal construction, 
while State construction favorable to Federal authority needs 
no review, the Federal authority being already vindicated. 

The Federal authority is the final judge of the extent of its 
own powers and within its legal sphere (as the Supreme Court 
may define it) the United States law operates of its own right 
and no State decision or authority may resist it.^ 

At first a citizen of one State was allowed to sue another 
State in a United States court. But the Eleventh Amendment 
now prevents this. It was not expected that the Constitution 
would be so construed as to allow a citizen to sue a State, — 
that would tend to violate the independence and dignity of the 
State. But this right of the citizen as against a State was 
asserted by a decision of the Supreme Court in the celebrated 
case of Chrisholm vs. Georgia, decided in 1793. Chrisholm, chrishoim vs. 
a citizen of South Carolina, sued Georgia in the United States G«°'e**' "^^ 
court on a claim. Georgia refused to appear in court, where- 
upon the Supreme Court, Chief Justice Jay rendering the 
decision, construed the Constitution in such a way that the 
national authority, by implied powers, became greater than was 
expected. This offended and alarmed the people of the States. 
They did not wish to have their "sovereign States" (as they 
were then thought of) dragged into an outside court by private 
plaintiffs. So the eleventh amendment was quickly adopted, 
and declared in effect in 1798, which provides that the judicial 
power of the United States shall not be construed to extend 
to any suit against one of the United States by citizens of any 
other State, domestic or foreign. 

Under the shelter of this amendment several States have 
been able with impunity to repudiate their debts. The 
national Government cannot compel a State to pay its debts, 

1 A person arrested by a Federal officer may not be released by a State 
court on a writ of habeas corpus. See Booth z;5. Ableman, 21 Howard 
S16. 



328 



THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 



Other Cases 
arising in 
Federal Courts 



No Common 

Law 

Jurisdiction 



Conflict of 

Laws 

Prevented 



and no State can be sued without its own consent and then only 
in its own courts. If State bonds held by citizens of foreign 
countries were repudiated we might get into difficulty with 
foreign powers on this account. So it has been claimed that 
in all matters where our relations with foreign powers are in- 
volved the jurisdiction of the United States should be supreme. 
If State bonds held by citizens were transferred to a State, 
payment on them might be enforced in the United States 
courts, since one State may sue another in the national courts. 

Other kinds of cases that may come up in Federal courts 
are those arising from controversies (a) between two or more 
States; (b) between citizens of different States; (c) be- 
tween citizens of the same States claiming lands under grant 
from different States; (d) between a State or its citizens 
and a foreign country or its citizens. 

The jurisdiction of the Federal courts is statutory. That 
is, their jurisdiction is not derived from common law, — from 
precedents, former decisions, and the law of custom, — but 
from the Constitution and the statutes made in accordance 
with the Constitution. Their powers are to be found in the 
written law, not in the general principles and usages of law. 

A Federal law applicable to a case prevails in that case 
against any State law, and whether a Federal law applies is 
to be decided by'^. Federal Court. This prevents any clashing 
of authority between State and Federal courts, and the two 
jurisdictions work together in harmony over the same people 
at the same time. If a Federal court has occasion to apply 
State law in any case, it always follows the former decisions 
of State courts. National judges always respect the decisions 
of State judges on State law. A Federal act cannot impose 
functions and duties upon a State court; the State may refuse 
to accept and discharge these duties. The Federal law must 
supply its own officers and machinery.^ The first fugitive slave 
act (1793) relied upon State courts and officers for its execu- 
^ See Prigg vs. Pennsylvania. 



THE JUDICIARY 



329 



tion and for that reason, after the anti-slavery spirit arose in 
the free States, it became a dead letter; many States refused 
their help in carrying out the law. 

In each of the United States District Courts there is a United 
States District Attorney who prosecutes violations of the law 
in his district. Each district has a United States Marshal umted states 
who does such work as is performed by a Sheriff in a State Marshals 
court. He arrests offenders and executes the orders and 
carries out the decisions of the court. Each court also has 
a clerk, appointed by the court. The District Attorney and 
the Marshal are appointed by the President. 

Power to Declare Legislative Acts 
Unconstitutional 

The most important power of the judiciary, from a political 
point of view, is that of declaring legislative acts unconsti- 
tutional. When this is done the acts are "null and void," and 
of no force, as if they had never been passed. This power 
may be exercised by the Federal judiciary not only toward 
acts of Congress but toward acts of the State legislatures. 
Much discussion has been indulged in over the question as 
to whether the framers of our Government intended to confer 
this important power on the courts. In 1803 in the celebrated 
case of Marbury vs. Madison, Chief Justice Marshall explicitly 
declared for the first time that an act of Congress which, in 
the judgment of the Supreme Court, violated the Constitution, 
was null and void. 

In the notable Marbury decision in which this doctrine was 
laid down Chief Justice Marshall said: 

"The powers of the legislature are defined and limited: that the 
limits may not be mistaken or forgotten the Constitution is written. 
To what purpose are powers limited and to what purpose is that limi- 
tation committed to writing if those limits may at any time be passed 
by those intended to be restrained? The distinction between a govern- 
ment of Umited and one of unlimited powers is abolished if those 



330 



THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 



Who should 
be the Final 
Judge of 
what is 
constitutional? 



limits do not confine the person on whom they are imposed. . . . 
Certainly aU those who have framed written constitutions con- 
template them as forming the fundamental paramount law of the 
nation, and consequently the theory of every such government must 
be that an act of the legislature repugnant to the Constitution is 
void. This theory is essentially attached to a written constitution 
and is consequently to be considered by this court as one of those 
fundamental principles of our society." 

This passage is a good specimen of Chief Justice Marshall's 
close powers of reasoning and of forcible statement. He then 
argued that it was emphatically the province of the judiciary 
to say what the Constitution is, that is, what it permits or 
forbids. It is upon this point that his contention has been 
most stoutly opposed. 

A few years later in several other cases the Supreme Court 
asserted its power to declare void acts of State legislatures 
which it deemed unconstitutional.^ This alarmed Jefferson 
and the States right's party, who were afraid that the Supreme 
Court, if it were allowed to exercise this power of overruling 
State and national acts, would become such a powerful arm 
of the national Government that the people would lose con- 
trol over their own laws. Such a power would make the courts 
superior to the political arm of the government, — more 
powerful than Congress and the President combined. Jeffer- 
son therefore urged more effective popular control of the 
courts, by popular election and for shorter terms, and by 
some easier mode of removal. 

All admitted that unconstitutional laws were not permissible 
and that they should not bind the people. But the question 
was, who should finally decide whether measures, proposed 
or passed, were really constitutional. There are usually pro- 
nounced differences of opinion on such a matter, even within 

1 See United States vs. Judge Peters (1819), Martin vs. Hunter's 
Lessee (1816), McCuUoch vs. Maryland (1819), and Cohen vs. Virginia 
(1821). 



THE JUDICIARY 



331 



the Supreme Court itself. Is Congress authorized under the 
Constitution to pass such or such a measure, or is the President 
authorized to approve it? They may not pass or approve 
acts which they think are unconstitutional, — that would be to 
violate their oath to support the Constitution, — but in con- 
sidering the passing of laws each department of the govern- 
ment — Congress and the President — may act upon its own 
judgment of the Constitution and they are not bound by any 
decision of the Judiciary. But if an act is favored and is 
passed by both Congress and the President, the Supreme 
Court has the final decision as to its constitutionality, if a case 
involving the validity of the act comes before the court. So 
it has become the custom and the law in America that the 
Supreme Court is "the" final and authoritative interpreter of 
the Constitution." 

The constitutional governments of Europe do not permit 
such a power to rest with the judiciary. In England Parlia- 
ment is supreme. This involves "legislative supremacy" 
and the subordination of the courts to the will of the law- '' i-egisiative 

Supremacy" 

making body. The American system, or practice, is usually compared with 
spoken of as involving "judicial supremacy." Any act g^"^^^^^^ „ 
Parliament passes is constitutional, and no court would pre- 
sume to set it aside. If a political leader in Parliament de- 
nounces a proposed measure as " unconstitutional," he merely 
means that it is contrary to precedent, to custom and usage, 
and that no such act has ever been passed before. He may 
be right; but if ParHament passes the measure it becomes con- 
stitutional. That is, it becomes a part of the constitution, 
since the constitution in England is made up of custom, 
usage, decisions, and acts of Parliament. All laws are a part 
of the constitution and are of equal authority, — all are 
passed by Parliament and all may be repealed by Parliament, 
and the courts instead of setting any of them aside as "uncon- 
stitutional" invariably accept them and apply them in cases 
that may arise. 



332 



THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 



Statute Law 
must not 
violate 

Fundamental 
Law 



Four kinds of 
American Law 



The Law of the 
Constitution is 
decided as 
Cases arise 



If English judges find an act conflicting with a previous 
court decision they prefer the act to the decision as being of 
higher authority. If they find two acts of Parliament con- 
flicting they merely look at the date of each and the later act 
prevails, as "the last expression of the mind of ParUament." 
There is no such thing as an invalid act of Parliament. 

The American idea of "judicial supremacy" does not 
mean that the judicial department is superior to the legisla- 
tive, but only that the fundamental law as established by the 
people in their constitutions is superior to both. The theory 
is that when a legislative act is declared to be unconstitutional 
there is no conflict between the legislative and judicial de- 
partments; the conflict is merely between two kinds of law. 
The judiciary must say what the law is, and see to it that no act 
is repugnant to the supreme law of the land, — which must 
prevail. But, as a matter of fact, the interpretation of the 
judiciary is made superior to that of the legislative or of the 
executive arm, and this brings about "judicial supremacy." 

There are four kinds of American law: (i) The Federal 
Constitution; (2) Federal statutes; (3) State constitution; 
(4) State statutes. The Federal Constitution is the supreme 
law and all other kinds of law must be in harmony therewith. 
If two laws conflict, not the later law (as in England) but the 
higher law prevails, and the lower authority must give way. 
The court merely states what the higher law requires and shows 
wherein the lower law (the statute) is inconsistent with this. 
The judge's decision must stand by the fundamental laws 
rather than by those that are not fundamental. So the 
theory is that it is the law, not the will of the judges, that 
prevails. 

The Justices of the Supreme Court will not express an opinion 
upon the constitutionahty of a law in advance of a case arising 
under it, nor upon any measure pending in Congress. The 
court never "goes to meet a question." It waits till the ques- 
tion is brought before it by a suit at law, or a test case. It will 



THE JUDICIARY 333 

not seek to influence or interfere with a coordinate department 
of the government. Also the Supreme Court has endeav- 
ored throughout its history, and for the most part success- 
fully, to keep clear of politics. There have been exceptions 
in a few historic cases and these have led the court to become 
involved in political criticism and opposition. When the 
Court assumed to decide on the limits of power between the 
State and national Governments, on the constitutionality 
of the Second United States Bank, on the power of the State 
to control the Indians within its borders, on whether Congress 
had power to prevent slavery in the territories ^ or issue 
greenbacks or impose an income tax, and on some other cases, 
much criticism and hostility were aroused among those opposed 
to the decisions. The consequence is that the Supreme Court 
has been denounced at times for entering politics and attempt- 
ing to control the public policy of the country. The same 
feeling has been aroused against the courts in the States, and 
the recent proposals for the "recall of judges" and the "recall 
of judicial decisions " has come out of this feeling (see p. 44). 
On the whole, the Supreme Court has won the confidence of 
the people, and so long as it interprets the law and explains 
its meaning and does not interfere in the political function of 
making or unmaking the law the people are satisfied to look 
to that court as the supreme arbiter, not in political disputes, 
but in deciding the scope and meaning of 'the law. There 
is a strong public sentiment which demands that a Justice of 
the Supreme Court should be entirely free from politics or 
political ambition. If he aspires to a political olfice, Uke the 
presidency, his decisions are likely to be rendered, or used by 
his supporters, for party purposes. A poHtical party might 
attempt to capitalize the judicial decisions of its candidate, 
and that would seriously violate the spirit of the Supreme 
Court. It might lead to the rendering of decisions for party 
Durposes. The integrity of the court is of the highest concern 
^ By the Dred Scott opinion, 



334 



THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 



The Supreme 
Court may 
reverse its 
own Decisions 



How the 
Political 
Branches of the 
Government 
may control 
the Judiciary 



Danger of 

Political 

Control 



and no ambition for elective ofl&ce should be permitted to 
influence the judgment of that tribunal. 

Occasionally the Supreme Court has reversed its own 
decisions. A new case may be brought before it, judges may 
change their minds, the membership of the court may change, 
and a later decision, quite different from a former one, may be 
made on the same act. In the income tax case in 1895 the 
court by a vote of five to four, after one judge changed his 
mind, reversed former decisions on this subject, and that which 
had been constitutional for a hundred years became uncon- 
stitutional. The court's opinion decided the matter. 

A reversal of decision also happened in the greenback cases 
after the Civil War, after the Supreme Court had been in- 
creased in number and two new judges had been appointed. 
This indicates a weak point in the armor of the court and shows 
how it may be controlled, if the people permit, by the political 
branches of the government. It is within the power of Con- 
gress and the President to "pack" it if they have a mind to 
do so. The number of the court may be increased by act of 
Congress from nine to fifteen, or to any other convenient num- 
ber. If Congress and the President representing the people 
are united and determined to do what the court asserts to be 
unconstitutional (without waiting for an amendment to the 
Constitution) they have only to increase the membership 
and let the President fill the new places on the court with 
judges who will give the desired opinion. Since the opinion 
of the new appointees might be known in advance, almost any 
decision that it is desired to have reversed might be reversed 
in this way. 

This would be a radical, not to say revolutionary, process 
and would be approved by the people only under what they 
would consider extreme necessity or provocation. A President 
would commit a great wrong and be unfit for his high oflice 
who attempted to control, or make sure of beforehand, the 
opinion on any case of a judge whom he contemplates appoint- 



THE JUDICIARY 335 

ing to the bench. James I under the Stuart tyranny was 
attempting to do this when he asked Coke, the great jurist, 
how he would decide a particular case if it came before him. 
Coke replied to the King, "I would decide as becometh a 
judge." That is the true type of a noble and independent 
judge. Yet there is suspicion, and it has been charged among 
radical democratic parties in America, especially among the 
Socialists, that the Presidents in their judicial appointments 
are careful to safeguard property rights against popular or 
socialist movements in this way. If the independence of the 
court were to be thus submerged, its usefulness would be de- 
stroyed, or it would cease to be what it is. Americans respect 
their highest legal tribunal and they are unwilling to sacrifice 
its judicial independence. At the same time they will resist, 
as they always have done, any interference by the courts in 
determining the political or public policies of the nation or of 
the States. 

Although the practice of declaring acts of the legislature 
unconstitutional is described by lawyers as merely reveaUng 
the law, — i.e. telling what it is — and not making the law, 
yet the practice makes possible a good deal of "court-made "Court-made 
.law," — that is, law which is made, or prevented, by decisions 
or constructions contrary to the legislative desire and inten- 
tion. The fact that certain laws designed to protect labor and 
laws designed to tax wealth have been overthrown by the courts 
have led to the observation that the American system of the 
supremacy of the courts is less democratic than the English 
system of the supremacy of the legislature, and that written 
constitutions instead of being safeguards for the common people 
may be safeguards to property and vested interests. It is 
because of the bearing of judicial decisions on the political and 
social demands of large bodies of people that the courts and 
their powers have come so largely into public controversy in 
recent years. 



Law" 



336 THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 

TOPICS AND QUERIES 

1. Are Congress and the President subject to the Supreme Court's 

interpretation of the Constitution? May each department 

(executive, legislative, Judicial) interpret the Constitution for 
itself? 

2. Debate: Resolved, that legislative supremacy, as in England, 

is better than judicial supremacy, as in America. 

3. A State cannot be compelled to pay its bonds held by individuals. 

By what law is this true? If foreign citizens held these bonds, 
how might the United States be involved in trouble with foreign 
countries? 

4. The Constitution has grown more by construction than by amend- 

ment. Prove this. 

5. Debate: Resolved, that the "gateway amendment" ought to be 

inserted in the Constitution. 



REFERENCES 

Ashley, R. L. The American Federal State, Chap. XVI. 

Baldwin, S. E. The American Judiciary. 

Corwin, E. S. The Doctrine of Judicial Review. 

Haines, Charles G. The A merican Doctrine of Judicial Supremacy. 

Jenks, J. W. Principles of Politics, Chap. VIII. 

McLaughlin, A. C. The Courts, the Constitution and Parties, Lecture I. 

Smith, J. Allen. The Spirit of American Government. 

Willoughby, W. W. The Supreme Court of the United States. 

Young, James T. The New American Government, Chap. XV. 

Use also the volumes cited in previous chapters. 



CHAPTER XVIII 
MONEY AND TAXES 

When we speak of money we naturally think of gold, silver, ^J""®^ 
or paper. As a matter of fact, however, almost any com- 
modity could be used as money and a great many have been 
so used. The Romans used cattle as money; the Virginia 
colonists used tobacco in the same way, and the 'American 
Indians used wampum. Other commodities, such as grain, 
tea, ivory, olive oil, furs, shells, and salt have been used as 
money by different peoples at different times. Any commodity 
which has the property of exchangeability, that is, one that is 
generally desired and sought after, may be used as money. 

It must be plain, however, that some commodities are more The Metals 

^ , as Money 

desirable than others for use as money. Grain and salt were 
found to be too heavy and bulky to carry around and it was 
not easy to make small change in cattle. As a result of a sort 
of "survival of the fittest" the various metals, and especially 
the precious metals, are now universally recognized by civi- 
lized nations as the best money material. They are durable, 
homogeneous in quality, easily recognizable, and possess, 
relatively speaking, considerable stability of value. They may 
also be easily divided into units of any desired form or weight. 

When gold and silver were first used as money they passed Coinage 
from the buyer to the seller in the form of dust, nuggets, or ■ 
bars, and the trader of the olden time usually carried a scale 
or a pair of balances attached to his saddle to be used in 
money transactions. This was also found to be a clumsy 
and time-consuming performance and in the course of time 
coins appeared. The bar of metal was molded into a certain 

337 



338 



THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 



fixed form and stamped in such a way as to indicate its weight 
and fineness. This is now usually done by the various govern- 
ments. When the United States Government stamps upon 
the face of a disk of gold these words, "united states of 
AMERICA ONE DOLLAR," it says in effect: "this is to certify 

THAT THIS COIN WEIGHS 25.8 GRAINS AND NINE-TENTHS OF IT 

is pure gold." The gold has been tested and weighed in the 
mint and the Government in making the coin certifies to its 
weight and fineness. But the Government also stipulates by 
law that this coin shall perform the function of legal tender 
money; that is, creditors are bound to take it in payment of 
debts. 

Money Standards 

Reference has already been made to the three functions or 
uses of money. The way in which money serves as a medium 
of exchange has been made plain. But it is also said that 
money serves as a "standard of value." It is evident that 
when a bushel of wheat is sold for $1.50, money is the standard 
which measures the value of the wheat. Money thus serves 
as a medium of exchange and as a standard of value at the 
same time. It really might be more accurate to call these 
two different phases of the same function rather than two 
different functions. Again, immediate payment for services 
or commodities is not always made. The payment is some- 
times deferred for a period of time. In renting property or in 
agreeing to pay the interest and principal of a note we are 
entering into contracts to pay debts in the future. In such 
cases money serves as the measure or the standard of the 
payments thus deferred. 

Price is the amount of money which a commodity will bring. 
Value is the relation, in exchange, between different com- 
modities, money included. Money varies in value as well as 
other things. Its value, like that of everything else, depends 
on its supply and demand. If there is much money in circu- 



MONEY AND TAXES 339 

lation (inflation) money is cheap; that is, prices are high. 
You can buy more money with the same amount of produce, 
or less produce with the same amount of money. If money 
is scarce (contraction) it becomes dear; that is, prices are low; 
you have to give up more products (wheat, corn, hogs, cattle, 
etc.) to get the same amount of money. Value is not intrinsic, 
but is a relation, or ratio, between things that are exchanged. 
Gold money has a commodity value (as paper money has not) , 
because if it were beaten up into bullion it could be sold as a 
commodity. The price of gold is fixed by law, because the 
Government agrees by law to give (or coin) a dollar for so much 
gold. But the value of gold money, as of all money, varies 
with the supply and demand. If gold production should 
double (other things remaining the same) the value of the gold 
dollar would fall; that is, prices would rise. The sa me number 
of gold dollars would pay the same amount of debts (deferred 
payments) but they would not buy the same amount of prod- 
ucts. This indicates the quantitative theory of money, — that 
prices, and the amount of wealth that has to be surrendered 
to pay debts, depend on the quantity of money. It is for this 
reason that the money question has been one of a conflict 
of interests between debtors and creditors, and between pro- 
ducers and those who live on fixed incomes, from rents, salaries, 
and interest on money. One class favors inflation or an 
increase of money, while the other class opposes that policy. 
Honest money should represent the same amount of wealth 
(labor or products) at all times, but that is difi&cult, if not 
impossible, to attain. 

There are eleven different lands of money in circulation in Kinds of 

Money 

the United States at the present time, namely, gold coins, 
standard silver dollars, subsidiary silver and minor coins 
(nickel and copper), gold certificates, silver certificates, 
treasury notes (issued under Act of July 14, 1890), United 
States notes (greenbacks), national bank notes, and Federal 
reserve notes. 



340 THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 

While these various kinds of money circulate in daily 
business, side by side, they are not all on the same legal basis. 
Some are "legal tender" and others are not. By a legal tender 
is meant any kind of money which may be legally tendered or 
offered in the payment of debt where no contract has been 
made to pay the debt in any particular kind of money. 

The legal tender quality of the various kinds of money may 
be set forth as follows: 

Gold coins of all denominations are legal tender for all debts, 
pubHc and private. 

Standard silver dollars are legal tender without limit in 
payment of all debts, public and private, except where other- 
wise expressly stipulated in the contract. 

Subsidiary silver coins are legal tender for amounts not ex- 
ceeding ten dollars in any one payment. 

Treasury notes of 1890 are legal tender for all debts, public 
and private, except where otherwise expressly stipulated in the 
contract. 

United States notes (greenbacks) are legal tender for all 
debts, public and private, except duties on imports and 
interest on the public debt. Since the resumption of specie 
payment on January i, 1879, however. United States notes 
have been freely received in payment of duties on imports, 
but the law has remained unchanged. 

Gold and silver certificates are not legal tender. On the face 
of a silver certificate you will find this statement: "This 

CERTIFIES THAT THERE HAVE BEEN DEPOSITED IN THE TREASURY 

OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA SILVER DOLLARS 

PAYABLE TO THE BEARER ON DEMAND." This meaUS exaCtly 

what it says, and the silver dollars may be obtained by the 
bearer at any time in exchange for his certificate. The certifi- 
cates are issued as a matter of convenience only. It is more 
convenient to carry a considerable sum of money in the form 
of paper than in the form of coin. 
The principle of the gold certificate is the same as that of the 



MONEY AND TAXES 34 1 

silver certificate and neither one is legal tender. Both, how- 
ever, are receivable for "customs, taxes, and all public dues," 
and as a matter of fact are freely received every day in the 
actual transaction of business. 

National bank notes are legal tender for all public dues, 
except duties on imports, and the Government may pay them 
out for all salaries or debts due to individuals, corporations, 
and associations within the United States, except for interest 
on the public debt and in redemption of the national currency. 
All national banks are required by law to accept the notes of 
other national banks at par. 

Federal Reserve notes are not legal tender and do not differ 
materially from national bank notes. 

The minor coins made of nickel and copper are legal tender 
to the amount of 25 cents. 

This legal tender quality is not as important as it might 
appear at first thought and certainly not as important as it 
once was. This is due to the fact that it is the definite and 
expressed policy of our Government to maintain the various 
kinds of money on an equality or a parity of value. At the 
present time there is no difference in the purchasing power 
of the different kinds of money. The paper dollar, the silver 
dollar, and the gold dollar are on an equality and are exchange- 
able the one for the other. An Act of Congress passed in 1900 
declares that the gold dollar weighing 25.8 grains, nine-tenths 
fine, "shall be the standard unit of value," and also 
that it shall be the duty of the Secretary of the Treasury 
" to maintain at a parity of value with this standard all forms 
of money issued or coined by the United States." The sig- 
nificant thing to be remembered is that you can exchange a 
given quantity in any one kind of money for a corresponding 
quantity of gold. The parity and interchangeabiHty of the 
various kinds of money are very important considerations in 
our monetary system and were brought about through congres- 
sional legislation. 



342 



THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 



Coin and 
Bullion Value 



Importance of 
the Monetary 
System 



It should be remembered throughout that gold is the stand- 
ard of value in the United States as it is in the other leading 
countries of the world. If a gold coin were melted down into 
bullion that would not affect its price. In other words the 
coin price and the bullion price of gold are the same. This 
price is fixed by law, since the Government coins all gold at a 
certain rate.^ But the bullion price of a silver dollar, for 
example, at the present time is not as much as the coin price, 
since the Government no longer turns silver bullion into coin 
except to a very Hmited extent for subsidiary coins. We no 
longer have "free coinage of silver" as we have of gold. For- 
merly, the Government coined all the gold and silver bullion 
that was offered at the rate of "sixteen to one," That is, 
the silver in a silver dollar should weigh sixteen times as much 
as the gold in a gold dollar; or sixteen gold dollars could be 
made to every silver dollar out of the same weight of the two 
metals. The silver dollar is placed on a parity with the gold 
dollar by legislation. A person may bring any amount of 
gold which he happens to possess to a United States mint and 
have it converted into gold coins. There is no limit to this 
process. The same, however, is not true of the other monetary 
metals. The Government buys silver, nickel, and copper from 
time to time and coins them into money. In doing this, of 
course, it makes a large profit. To put a Government stamp 
upon fifty cents' worth of silver, for example, and make a 
dollar out of it would be a very profitable operation, if the 
Government should pay its debts out of the money so coined. 
It is estimated that the Government of the United States made 
a profit of $143,000,000 in coining silver between the years 
1878 and 1907. 

We have been able to give in this chapter only a very 
meager outline of the monetary system of the United States. 
It would be both interesting and profitable to study the va- 
rious steps in the historical development of the system and to 
^ See the topic "Price and Value," p. 338. 



MONEY AND TAXES 



343 



note the changes which have been made from time to time in 
order to adapt the system to changing conditions. It is im- 
portant that every American citizen should understand the 
general principles of money and be familiar with the main 
features of the American monetary system. We are called 
upon to modify the mechanism of this system from time to 
time and should be able to do so intelligently. 

The importance of a good monetary system to the business 
world is incalculable. As long as the system works well we 
do not hear much about it, but as soon as it gets out of order 
or fails to meet the demands of the business world we become 
suddenly aware of its importance. 

Additional information on this subject may be obtained from 
the references mentioned in the list. 



The National Banking System 

A new banking and currency measure known as the " Federal 
Reserve Act" became a law December 23, 1913. Under it 
certain cities have been chosen for the location of Federal 
Reserve Banks. ^ The banks within convenient distance of 
these cities become members (stockholders) of their respective 
"Regional Banks." Each of these Regional Banks is a kind 
of federation of banks. Branch offices may be estabUshed 
within the district. The Regional Reserve Banks do a bank- 
ing business only with the member banks, not with individuals. 
But these Regional Banks may issue bank notes to be used 
as currency. The Federal Reserve Board (the national con- 
trolling body) may authorize the issue of these notes when 
it is thought best, and the notes are sent to the member 
banks throughout the country to be issued, or lent to their 
customers across the counter. These notes are obligations 
of the United States and are receivable by all the banks and 
for all taxes, customs, and other public dues, and they are 

1 These cities are Boston, New York, Richmond (Va.), Atlanta, 
Chicago, Dallas (Tex.), St. Louis, Kansas City, Seattle, San Francisco. 



The Federal 
Reserve Act: 
Preventing 
Money Panics 



344 



THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 



An Elastic 
Currency and 
Panics 



redeemable in gold on demand at the treasury of the United 
States or at any Federal Regional Reserve Bank. This 
makes them sound currency. The usual bank notes are 
based on Government bonds which the bank owns, and not 
on all the assets of the bank, such as promissory notes given 
to the bank by merchants, manufacturers, farmers, etc. 
These bank notes were increased or diminished according 
as the interests of the banks demanded, depending on 
whether the banks wished to buy or sell Government bonds. 
Often it was not to the interest of the banks to issue notes, 
as that would necessitate tying up a good deal of money in 
Government bonds bearing a low rate of interest. 

The consequence was the currency was rather rigid, neither 
expanding nor contracting with the demands of trade. The 
new system is designed to correct this evil and to give us an 
elastic currency, — a currency that will stretch out or draw 
in as business needs require, giving the country more currency 
at one time and less at others in answer to commercial demands. 
The Federal Reserve notes help to provide this "emergency 
currency." It is furnished by a Government agency, and the 
notes will enable the country to avoid panics. A money 
panic comes from lack of credit and loss of confidence, or when 
the demand for money overwhelms the supply. Then people 
are seized with a fear that the money they have loaned, or 
deposited in the bank, cannot be had when it is wanted. A 
"run on the bank" is started, people draw out their deposits, 
and hide their money away. The banks cannot make loans 
and have to call in the loans they have made, and the result 
is that people who have to meet their obligations and pay their 
debts in money have to suffer legal foreclosures of mortgages 
and property sales under the hammer, and this compels them 
to sacrifice their property at half its value, or less. The result 
is loss and ruin to thousands of honest people who could have 
paid their debts without loss of their property and business if 
time (a loan or credit) had been allowed to them. An emer- 



^ 2 



n 

> 

M 

o 
<=:r! ^ ■ o 

C ^ n d 

a p <:^ 

crp "" 
Li <^ 



Q ^ 



O 

o 



CLm' 





_ Custom House Officers Examining Baggage at a Steamship Pier 




Government Inspection of Groceries at Custom House, N. Y. 

All liquids, are measured to see if they are the weight specified. Canned 
goods are weighed and examined by the Pure Food Department. 



MONEY AND TAXES 



345 



a Government 
Function 



gency currency is devised to keep the wheels of industry in 
motion to enable men who can give good security to get an 
extension of time or credit and not be compelled to close up 
their business or sell their property in order to pay their 
debts. Borrowers who have lands, houses, horses, cattle, 
hogs, mills, stores, factories, quarries, and other forms of 
wealth should be able to borrow money, and it must be shown 
to be unprofitable and senseless to hoard money and keep it 
out of use. Money makes money, but not when it is idle 
or hidden away. 

If there is any business in the world which Government 
should attend to it is to coin money and to see to it that there 
is a sufficient supply of money for use in business and that this issuing Notes 

^ ^ -^ -^ . . 1 ^°'' Money is 

money may be had on good and proper securities when and 
where it is needed. What blood is to the arteries money is 
to the channels of trade. Stop its flow and that is the end. 
Coining money, or issuing notes to be used as money, is a 
Government function, not a banking function, and it is to be 
regulated by public needs, not by private interests. It is 
claimed for the Federal Reserve System that it will supply 
the emergency currency, and by distributing its notes through 
the Regional Banks, it will have them in sufficient quantities 
where they are most needed. This will prevent a combination 
of banking interests in great financial centers from controlling 
the supply of currency and will increase the lending power of the 
local banks. It means the public control of banks and bank 
money as against private control. It should be remembered 
that banking is not entirely private business but a semi- 
public business. The Government charters a bank and re- 
quires it to do certain things and there are Government bank 
examiners who inspect the banks, to see that they obey the 
law and are by sound banking poHcies honestly safeguarding 
the money deposited with them. 



Public Control 
of Baxiks 



346 THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 

The Public Revenues 

No Government can be carried on successfully without an 
adequate revenue. It must have money to pay its expenses. 
Most of this money is derived from taxation. '' In this country 
more than 70 per cent of all public revenues are obtained from 
taxes, so the problems of taxation are the most important 
with which the public financier has to deal." ^ 

For our present purpose we may consider taxes as "compul- 
sory contributions collected by governments, without any 
specific return being given or promised." Taxes are expended, 
for example, for the maintenance of the police and fire depart- 
ments, for the building of roads and the paving of streets, 
and for the support of schools. The tax-payer receives no 
specific return on his investment, but if his government be 
administered efficiently and economically he does get more 
in return for the tax which he pays than for any similar amount 
which he expends. 
Justice in jf |-]^g Government is going to take from its citizens a certain 

Taxation ... 

amount of money each year it is important that this be done 
in a fair and equitable manner. What, then, constitutes justice 
in taxation? 

We might just as well admit at the outset that absolute 
justice in taxation has never been attained and probably 
never will be. Approximate justice is all that we can hope 
to secure. We should, however, strive to bring our taxing 
systems as close to ideal justice as it is practically possible 
to do. 

The theory of justice in regard to taxation, which is perhaps 
more widely accepted at the present time than any other, is 
that "taxes should be proportioned to the benefits derived." 
This is useful as a general statement, but it must be obvious 
that it is impossible to determine the benefits which any given 
individual does derive from the Government. 

^ Ely, Outlines of Economics, pages 695-6. 



MONEY AND TAXES 347 

Again, it is said that taxes should be apportioned according 
to the ability of the individual to pay. But it must be evident 
that there is no way of measuring this ability. If A has twice 
as much property as B, is his ability to pay necessarily twice 
that of B? Absolute justice in taxation is, at the present time, 
unattainable. "A system that frankly recognizes this truth 
and makes for rough justice, by the imposition of taxes which 
are simple, stable, convenient, inexpensive, and productive, 
is far better than one which attempts to secure exact justice 
through complex and delicate schemes of taxation which 
cannot be definitely or efSciently administered." ^ 

Apart from the billions appropriated for special purposes 
of war, the growth of expenditures by the Federal Govern- increased 
ment has been enormous in recent years.- Not counting war Expenses of 

1 TVT • 1 1- 1 . the Federal 

expenses the JNational expenditures are nearly twenty times Government 
what they were at the opening of the Civil War, and more 
than a hundred times greater than under Washington's 
administration.^ This increase has come about by the 
natural growth of Government work and its greater services 
to the people.^ 

The greater part of the National disbursements go for 
postal services and for the Departments of War, Navy, 
and Interior. Relatively small parts go for commerce, 
labor, agriculture, and education. 

Congress has the taxing power, — the power "to lay and 
collect taxes, duties, imposts, and excises," but all "such 
taxes, duties, and imposts shall be uniform throughout the 

^ Ely, Outlines of Economics, pages 697-8. 

'^ In 191 7 Congress appropriated nearly twenty billion dollars 
($20,000,000,000) for war purposes. This amount is beyond our 
understanding. But it is evident that in order to avoid waste and 
extravagance, the amount called for should be under the plan and 
control of one over-seeing committee, not under many committees 
working at cross purposes or without knowledge of one another's 
proceedings. 

3 State and City expenditures have increased correspondingly. 

* See pp. 78-83. 



34f 



THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 



The Taxing 
Power and 
Sources of 
Revenue of 
the National 
Government 



United States." ^ This taxing power extends to all persons 
and property within the United States. The purposes for 
which these taxes may be levied are "to pay the debts, pro- 
vide for the common defense and general welfare" of the 
United States. 

There are certain limitations on this taxing power of 
Congress: 

(i) No tax or duty may be levied on exports from any 
State. 

(2) Congress may not tax any instrument or agency by 

which a State Government performs its functions 
or carries on its business.^ "The power to tax 
involves the power to destroy." ^ The National 
Government has imposed a tax of ten per cent on 
all notes issued for circulation as money by State 
Banks. This destroys, or prohibits, the issuing of 
such notes. Issuing bank notes, or authorizing their 
issue, is not regarded as a necessary function of a 
State Government. Congress has the power under 
the Constitution "to coin money and to regulate 
the value thereof" and to secure "a uniform cur- 
rency," and it does not wish the country to have 
many kinds of State bank currency. So it prohibits 
their issue by the taxing power. 

(3) Direct taxes must be apportioned among the several 

States according to their population. In 1895 the 
Supreme Court declared the income tax to be a direct 
tax, and the act of 1894 imposing such a tax was 
declared null and void because, since incomes up to 
)o were exempted, the tax was not distributed 



* Constitution, Art. I, Sec. 8. 

2 Likewise, the State Government may not tax any instrument or 
agency by which the National Government performs its functions. 

^ Chief Justice Marshall in the case of McCulloch vs. Maryland in 
1819. 



MONEY AND TAXES 349 

according to population. More people in New 
York or Massachusetts, in proportion to population, 
would have the larger incomes than in Arkansas 
or Oklahoma. 

The three principal sources of revenue to the General 
Government are (i) customs duties, (2) internal revenue 
and (3) postal receipts. The expenses of the postal service Sources ^ 
are usually more than the receipts and the postal revenues 
may be regarded more as a payment for a direct service than 
as a tax. Apart from this service fully nine tenths of the 
National revenues come from customs duties and internal 
taxes. 

Customs duties are duties on imports, or taxes collected on 
articles brought into the United States from foreign countries. 
Only the National Government has a right to impose this 
form of tax; no State may do so. Import duties are an 
indirect tax; they are inexpensive and easy to collect. The 
importer, or merchant, usually shifts the tax burden to the 
consumer, who pays in the form of a higher price for the 
imported articles. These taxes do not fall upon people in 
proportion to their wealth but in proportion to the amount 
they buy or consume of the imported goods. If the Govern- 
ment collects fifty or sixty millions of dollars of import duty 
on sugar, it is evident that a family with a 10,000-dollar 
income would not pay ten times as much of the tax as a family 
with a looo-doUar income. 

The customs duty, or tariff, is sometimes levied on the 
bulk or number of the imported commodities. It is then 
called a specific duty. If levied on the value of the articles 
it is called an ad valorem duty. Sometimes these two kinds 
of duties are combined. We have used the customs duties 
as a source of national revenue ever since the foundation of 
the Government in 1789. There has been a controversy 
almost from the beginning over the extent and purpose of 



350 THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 

these tariff duties, whether they should be levied "for revenue 
only" or with a view to protecting home manufactures. It is 
the controversy between the protectionist and the free trader. 

Internal taxes have usually been excise taxes, that is, taxes 
levied upon consumption, manufacture, or sale of goods 
within the country. The consumer usually pays this tax 
also, since he must pay a higher price for the articles which 
he buys. This form of tax in ordinary times is usually laid 
only on liquors and tobacco and other commodities whose 
use it is desired to discourage. But in war times, when the 
Government must have greatly increased revenues as in the 
Civil War and in the Great War of 191 7, the internal revenue 
taxes are extended to numberless commodities and com- 
mercial operations, — insurance policies, promissory notes, 
bank checks, railway tickets, express and freight rates, theater 
tickets, and stamp taxes of various kinds. 

The Government gets the money it needs for carrying on 
war in two ways: By increased taxation and by borrowing, 
i.e. issuing its bonds which the people buy. No war can be 
paid for as it goes on merely by increased taxes, but taxes 
and bonds should be fairly proportioned so that the people 
while being made to feel the burden of the war may extend 
the time of payment over a period of years and not be over- 
burdened by taxes that would tend to check productive en- 
terprise and business. "Viewed as a whole, the internal 
revenue system is the most satisfactory part of our entire 
financial structure. State or Federal. Its returns are fairly 
steady and reliable in times of depression. Its growth is 
automatic. It is imposed on articles the demand for which 
is tolerably inelastic. Its burden is not perceptibly felt. 
It is honestly and economically collected; and, finally, it 
is abundantly capable of yielding additional revenue should 
an unforeseen emergency arise." ^ 

When a Government wishes to borrow money it offers its 
1 Daniels, Public Finance, p. 148. 



MONEY AND TAXES 35 1 

bonds and its certificates of indebtedncos. The bonds run 

for a longer time, for 20 or 30 years, the certificates for a Bond issues 

shorter time, for from two to five years, till such time as the ^rtificates of 

Government thinks it may be able to borrow at a lower rate indebtedness 

of interest. During the Civil War the United States had 

to borrow, and because the fate of the Government and the 

outcome of the war were uncertain the Government had to 

pay 6 or 7 per cent interest on its bonds (which were also 

free from taxation). The credit of the Government was not 

so good as it was after the success of the war. 

After the United States entered the European War issues ^'■^^^ Bonds 

and Thrift 

of "Liberty Bonds" were offered to the citizens of the country, stamps 
the first three at 3I, 4, and 4^ per cent interest. That is, 
the people were asked to lend money to their Government 
for the purpose of carrying on the war — for raising, equip- 
ping, clothing and feeding an army and supplying the navy, etc. 

In 1 91 8 the Government issued War Savings Stamps and 
Thrift Stamps, to encourage thrift and saving among the 
people and to enable men, women, and children of small 
means to lend money to the Government, with the assurance 
that it will be kept safely and paid back with interest. The 
Thrift Stamps afford one of the simplest forms of saving ever 
offered to a people. By this plan the obligation of the 
Government is sold in the form of stamps which are to be 
attached to a certificate. The War Savings Stamps are five- 
dollar stamps. 

The income tax at the present time is another important The income 
source of national revenue. In a national sense this is a com- 
paratively new tax. Foreign countries, notably Great Britain, 
have taxed incomes for many years, and certain American 
states used this form of taxation one hundred years ago. 
In 1895, however, the United States Supreme Court declared 
a national income tax law to be unconstitutional, and the in- 
come tax was made possible as a source of national revenue by 
the adoption of the Sixteenth Amendment to the Constitution 



352 



THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 



Other Sources 
of Revenue 



State and Local 
Taxes 



in 1 91 3. This law provided for a tax at a low rate on all in- 
comes in excess of $4000, with a progressively higher rate for 
larger incomes. In 1916 this tax produced more than $100,- 
000,000. In 191 7 the war income tax was increased and the 
exemptions were lowered. Unmarried men or women hav- 
ing an income of $1000 or more and married persons with an 
income of $2000 or more were made subject to the tax and 
there was assessed a graduated increase in the rate of tax as the 
incomes increased. In a general way it may be said that 
the income tax is a very just one. It represents fairly well 
the ability to pay and it is also easier to determine a man's 
income than to ascertain the value of his property. On the 
whole, the income tax is more equitable than the general 
property tax. 

In addition to these major sources of revenue the national 
Government secured in 191 7 $179,000,000 from a tax on cor- 
porations, and $6,000,000 from the sale of public lands 
and from certain other miscellaneous sources. The earnings 
of the post office were $329,000,000 in 191 7, but the expense 
was somewhat less than that sum. The total Federal 
receipts in 1915 were $1,007,000,000. The receipts and the 
expenditures of the national Government have increased very 
rapidly in recent years. 

In addition to Federal or national taxes we must also have 
taxes to pay the expenses of our State and local governments. 
The general property tax is the source of most of the revenue 
of the States and local units. This tax is levied upon practi- 
cally all property, real and personal, in the possession of the 
people. There are certain exemptions which are unimportant 
and may be disregarded. At one time this general property 
tax was a fairly equitable one, but it is not so under present 
conditions. Assessors, as a rule, are not trained for their 
work, large amounts of personal property owned by well- 
to-do men escape taxation, and the whole system is a constant 
temptation to dishonesty. The revision of the general prop- 



MONEY AND TAXES 353 

erty tax is one of the many important present problems of 
State finance. 

Some of the States also levy a tax on incomes and many of 
them levy taxes on inheritances. The poll tax is still levied to 
some extent but is gradually going out of use, and rightly so. 

The United States is a very rich country and has experienced 
little difficulty in raising sufficient money to carry on the 
various forms of national, State, and local government. Hence, 
the whole matter has been handled in a rather slipshod and 
unscientific manner. To reduce the whole matter of public 
finance to an equitable and scientific basis will be one of the 
great problems of the future. This whole subject stands in 
need of a careful review and thorough revision. The intro- 
duction of the budget system in both State and nation would 
be a long step in the direction of business-like public finance 
(see p. 286). 

REFERENCES 

Ely. Outlines of Economics, pp. 33-34. 

Ely. Outlines of Economics, Third Edition, Chap. XIV. 

Daniels. Public Finance. 

Jevons. Money and the Mechanism of Exchange. 

Marshall, Wright and Field. Materials for the Study of Elementary 

Economics." Sections 129-130. 
Plehn. Government Finance in the United States, especially Chap. 9. 
Seligman. Principles of Economics, Chap. XXVIII. 
White. Money and Banking. 

TOPICS AND QUERIES 

1. Why are gold and silver regarded as the best substances for use as 

money? Is not paper better than either? If not, why is it so 
generally used? Why not use paper altogether and release gold 
and silver for use in the arts and industries? 

2. What is a coin? Is all coin money? Is all money coin? When 

Congress issued "greenbacks," was that coining money? If not, 
how could it have been constitutional? 

3. Explain "legal tender." What injustice would be done in the en- 

forcement of contracts by making money cheaper or dearer? 

4. Show the error of using the term "intrinsic value." What meaning 

is intended by such a term? 



354 THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 

5. What is an "honest dollar"? Is money the creature of law or inde- 

pendent of law? 

6. Why should a rich man without children be taxed in order to help 

educate other people's children? 

7. Ought a part of the income from public utilities be taken as taxes 

or public revenues? Why? 

8. How may licenses and franchises be used as sources of public 

revenue? 

9. What is an " elastic currency" ? An " emergency currency" ? Why 

should these quahties in a national currency be provided for by 
government? 



CHAPTER XIX 
THE NATION IN ITS FOREIGN RELATIONS 

The nation has to deal both with domestic affairs aind foreign 
affairs. Its domestic concerns, or home activities, have greatly- 
increased in recent years, as we have seen, although it is true 
that most of our domestic affairs and local laws are still at- 
tended to by the States (see pp. 142-143). But the States, in 
the beginning of the Union, gave up the management of foreign 
affairs entirely to the general Government. No State may 
make a treaty, or enter into an alliance, or receive a foreign 
ambassador, or make war, or deal in any way with a foreign 
government. International dealing is the exclusive function 
of the national Government. In its conduct of foreign affairs 
the United States seeks to act in harmony with international 
custom which is called international law. 

International law is a collection of rules based upon custom, 
agreement, or common consent, which are accepted as mutually Law 
binding by modern civilized states in their deaHngs and 
relations with one another. Real law has force behind it. It 
comes from statutes or from decisions of judges based on 
customs, or precedents and the common sense of the com- 
munity (common law) and its observance is obligatory upon 
the community for which it is made. There is an enforcing 
power for the protection of the community to see that the law 
is obeyed. International law has no such sanction behind it, 
no such law-enforcing power. Strong nations often disregard 
it and violate their own agreements to it, and weak nations 
often appeal to it in vain. The first essential of law — that it 
is binding and must be obeyed — is absent. Hence, some 

355 



Character of 
International 



356 THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 

have said that there is no such thing as international law. 
It is only custom, or what nations agree to, — and then often 
disregard. 

Although these rules are only a set of usages and cus- 
toms, yet nations, as a rule, recognize them as law, and, in 
a spirit of good will and fair dealing, usually act upon them 
and observe them. That is, the nations will enforce this 
law each for itseK, but not against one another. In Great 
Britain and in the United States international law is regarded 
as a part of the law of the land, and its established principles, 
so far as each of these two nations accepts them, are enforced 
in the courts. The Constitution gives Congress power "to 
punish offenses against the law of nations," such as piracy, 
or crimes on the high seas; laws are enacted for this pur- 
pose, and the United States Supreme Court will recognize 
the principles of international law in its decisions. 

International law deals with such topics as peace and war, 
rights and duties of belligerents and of neutrals, blockades, 
sieges, privateering, captures made at sea, the law of the sea, 
mediation, intervention, naturalization, extradition, protection 
of citizens and aliens, and all kinds of treaties, arbitrations, 
and international conventions and conferences. 

International law acts on states (nations) not on individual 
citizens. Each state controls its own citizens, enforcing only 
such parts of this law as it chooses. If a state disregards or 
violates international law or refuses to be bound by it, the 
only way it can be punished is for other states, or countries, 
to make war upon the offending state or to cease to have 
any relations with it. If not punished by war, it ought to be 
denounced and disgraced as an outlaw among nations.^ 

^ In this book the word State is used in two senses. When spelled 
with a capital it refers to one of the States, of the American Union; 
otherwise, it refers to any political sovereignty or nation, as that term 
is used in America. In Europe the term nation signifies a race of people, 
those speaking a common language. For instance, the German nation 
includes all Germans whether they live in Germany, Austria, Brazil, 



THE NATION IN ITS FOREIGN RELATIONS 357 

This international law which binds states rests on several 
forces: (i) the public opinion of mankind, (2) the custom 
and usage of countries, (3) the treaties by which states have 
consented to be bound, (4) the executive conduct of govern- 
ments in their foreign relations, — such as their correspond- 
ence, agreements, and recognition of certain duties and rights,^ 
(5) acts of legislatures in recognition of international law, (6) 
judicial decisions in prize courts and other maritime cases, 
(7) writers and authorities on international law, who attempt 
to define or interpret this law. Such are the sources of inter- 
national law, which give sanction and force to it and restrain 
nations from disregarding it. 



America's Foeeign Policy 

America sought her independence by entering into a Euro- 
pean aUiance. The Continental Congress made two treaties 
with France in 1778 by which, in return for France's aid in 
gaining our independence, we agreed, among other things, 
to aid France in defending her American possessions in the 
West Indies. This treaty was a great help to America, but 
after our independence was obtained it proved embarrassing 
and it turned out to be the last as well as the first treaty of 
alliance into which America ever entered. When Washington 
was President and war broke out between Great Britain and 
France in 1793, France called on us to "make good" on our 
part of the alliance. But Washington wished the rising young 
nation of America to pursue a policy of neutrality toward 
the warring European nations. He did not wish the United 
States to get mixed up in European affairs. He interpreted 
the French treaty as consistent with that policy and he did 

or in the United States. In this passage the word stale is used to 
signify a politically independent sovereignty, which Americans usually 
call a nation. 

^ The executive is usually the branch of the government which 
conducts foreign relations. 



Washington's 
Foreign Policy: 
No Entangling 
Alliances 



358 



THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 



Adams and 

Jefferson 

follow 

Washington's 

Example 



not believe it committed America to take part on the side of 
France in the European war. Washington announced that 
"the duty and interest of the United States require that they 
should with sincerity and good faith adopt and pursue a con- 
duct friendly and impartial toward the belligerent powers."^ 

Later in his Farewell Address Washington urged upon his 
country as a fixed and permanent policy "to observe good 
faith and justice toward all nations; to cultivate peace and 
harmony with all, to avoid "inveterate antipathies against 
particular nations and passionate attachment for others," 
and "to steer clear of permanent alliances with any portion 
of the foreign world." "Against the insidious wiles of foreign 
influence a free people ought to be constantly awake. . . . 
The great rule of conduct for us in regard to foreign nations 
is, in extending our commercial relations, to have with them 
as little political connection as possible." Washington saw 
that Europe had a set of interests remote from American 
interests, and that European nations were likely to be involved 
frequently in controversies and wars the causes of which were 
foreign to our affairs. He, therefore, wished America to pursue 
her own course; to remain one people, to grow strong, and to be 
well prepared to defend herself under an efficient government. 
Then "we may choose peace or war, as our interest guided by 
justice shall counsel." - 

Jefferson, as Secretary of State under Washington, accepted 
this policy and helped to carry it out. John Adams, following 
Washington as President, pursued the same policy, maintain- 
ing peace with France and making sacrifices in order to free 
his country from the obligations of the French treaties of 1778, 
and when Jefferson became President he adopted the Washing- 
ton policy, announcing in his inaugural address for America's 
guidance the famous maxim, "Friendly relations with all 
nations, entangling alliances with none." Ever since the time 

1 Proclamation of Neutrality, April 23, 1793. 

2 Washington's Farewell Address. 



THE NATION IN ITS FOREIGN RELATIONS 359 

of Washington and Jefferson this has been the foreign policy 
of America toward European affairs. 

The Monroe Doctrine 

Washington's policy of American freedom from European 
interests, alHances, and wars was confirmed by the Monroe 
Doctrine. This famous doctrine was announced by President 
Monroe in his message to Congress, December 2, 1823. This 
doctrine consists of two distinct parts which may be summed 
up in two words: i. Non-colonization. 2. Non-intervention. 

These two ideas are separated in the message; they are 
separated in the circumstances from which they arose, they 
are separated in the things to which they apply, and they are 
separated in the principles of international law on which they 
depend. 

The first part of the doctrine was the outcome of a dispute 
between Russia, Great Britain, and the United States over 
the Northwest territory on the Pacific (the Oregon country). 
A nation's title to newly discovered territory depends in 
international law upon three facts — discovery, exploration, 
and settlement. There were claims and counterclaims among 
these nations. John Quincy Adams, our Secretary of State 
under Monroe, wished to forestall any further European 
claims to territory on the American continents. He therefore 
induced Monroe to insert this part of the doctrine in his 
message: " The American continents, by the free and independent 
condition which they have assumed and maintain, are henceforth 
not to he considered subjects for future colonization by European 
powers y This was the announcement not so much of a doctrine 
as of a fact in pohtical geography. The age of discovery 
and colonization, Adams asserted, was past so far as the 
American continents are concerned. All the territory was 
now in possession of some sovereign power. Great Britain 
denied this to be in harmony with the fact, as she was still 
seeking to colonize the Northwest and by exploring and 



Non- 
colonizatloa 



36o 



THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 



Non- 
intervention 



The Holy 
Alliance, 1815 



planting trading posts to establish her claims to that region. 
But whether the colonizing age in America had passed away 
in 1823 it has certainly passed away now. 

The second part of the Monroe doctrine was the outcome 
of a system of alliance and interference by certain powers of 
Europe in an effort to control the destinies and forms of govern- 
ment in other countries. The Holy Alliance was a combination 
of European sovereigns formed in 1815, partly for the purpose 
of helping one another to maintain their power; to prevent 
anything like popular revolt or revolution among the people, 
and to prevent the overthrow of absolute monarchy and the 
substitution therefor of republican or constitutional govern- 
ments. The Alliance interfered several times among the 
weaker nations of Europe to suppress popular liberty and to 
prevent their peoples from overthrowing their monarchs and 
setting up free governments of their own. In 1822 the powers 
of the Holy Alliance were about to cross the Atlantic ocean 
and apply their system of interference in America. They 
were threatening to interfere with the republics of South 
America which had been for a number of years seeking to 
establish their independence from Spain. The military 
power of these combined European governments — Prussia, 
Austria, Russia, France, — was to be brought to the aid of 
Spain to be used in America to reduce to subjection Spain's 
revolted colonies, and to restore the absolute monarchical 
authority of Spain. American sympathy was with the South 
American republics in their struggle for independence, and 
the people of the United States believed that the people in 
the Central and South American countries should be allowed 
to determine their own destiny and their own form of govern- 
ment in their own way. 

When the designs of the Holy Alliance became known to 
Great Britain, Canning, the English minister for foreign 
affairs, wrote to Richard Rush, the American minister in 
England, urging the United States to take decided ground 



THE NATION IN ITS FOREIGN RELATIONS 361 

against intervention in South America by the AUied Powers. 
England wished the South American republics to become 
independent for commercial reasons. Rush wrote to Monroe, 
and Monroe submitted the correspondence to Jefferson, asking 
his advice. Jefferson, in a famous letter, replied: 

"This raises the most momentous question since independ- 
ence. Our first and fundamental maxim should be never to 
entangle ourselves in the broils of Europe; our second, never Jefferson's 
to allow Europe to intermeddle with cis-Atlantic affairs. Monroe ■ 
America should have a system separate and apart from that 
of Europe. Now that England offers to come to our side in 
this opportunity we should improve the opportunity to protest 
against atrocious violations of the rights of nations by inter- 
ference." 

The substance of Jefferson's advice Monroe inserted in his 
message as the second part of the Monroe Doctrine: 

The political system of the Allied Powers is essentially 
dif event from that of America. Any attempt on their part to 
extend their system of interference to any portion of this hemi- 
sphere is dangerous to our peace and safety. . . . We could 
not view any interposition for the purpose of oppressing them 
[the Spanish American Statesl^ or controlling in any manner 
their destiny hy any European power in any other light than as 
a manifestation of an unfriendly disposition toward the United 
States.^ 

This does not say that the Unites States would go to war to 
prevent European interference in America, that is, to defend 
the Monroe doctrine; but it does say that its violation would 
be considered as an unfriendly act. What should be done 
about it would have to be determined by the circumstances. 
The warning which it contained, in conjunction with the 
friendly British policy, effectually prevented any European 
interference in South America at that time. 

1 Message of Monroe, December 2, 1823. 



362 THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 

Applications of the Monroe Doctrine 

This doctrine, or policy, arose from the circumstances of 
the time, and it was probably intended to have only a tem- 
The Case of porary application. But public men and writers have applied 
Yucatan, 1848 ^}^g doctrine in a permanent and broader way. In April, 1848, 
following the close of the Mexican War, President Polk asked 
Congress for authority to take possession of Yucatan. The 
Mosquito Indians in that country were waging a war of 
extermination against the whites. The Yucatan whites 
appealed to the United States for aid, offering to transfer to 
the United States the territory and dominion of the country 
in return for help in suppressing the insurrection of the Indians. 
The whites of Yucatan had also applied for aid to England 
and Spain, and President Polk was afraid that if we did not 
accept the offer, Yucatan might pass under the control of one 
of these powers. Polk, in addressing Congress, referred to 
the Monroe doctrine as "opposed to the transfer of American 
territory to any European power." He urged Congress to 
take steps to prevent Yucatan from becoming a European 
colony, which "in no event could be permitted by the United 
States." President Polk held that the Monroe doctrine op- 
posed the further acquisition of any European dependency in 
America, and upon this ground we should resist the EngHsh 
possession of Yucatan. 

It was on this occasion that Mr. Calhoun, then the only 
surviving member of Monroe's Cabinet, said that Polk was 
urging an entire misconception of Monroe's original declaration. 
Calhoun said that when the occasion and circumstances which 
called forth the declaration had passed away, the doctrine, 
or declaration (made only for the occasion), had also passed 
away. Calhoun claimed that the United States had not 
announced a general and permanent policy, or rule, of opposing 
European acquisition or intervention in America, and that 
Monroe's " noncolonization " applied only to new land un- 



THE NATION IN ITS FOREIGN RELATIONS 363 

claimed and unpossessed and consisted merely in denying that 
there was any such land in America; and that every case of 
attempted intervention should be decided on its own merits 
and be resisted or assented to accordingly. Justice and the 
interests of the United States were to determine in each case. 
Calhoun opposed our interference in Yucatan in 1848 because 
he thought circumstances did not justify it. Other senators 
thought the Monroe policy committed us against any further 
acquisition of territory on this continent by European powers. 
Thus, we see, a difference as to the scope of the Monroe doc- 
trine had already arisen. 

In 1 86 1 England, France, and Spain united to secure redress '^^^ ^*^® °* 

° ' . Mexico, 

and security for their citizens in Mexico. Some of these isei-ises 
citizens held Mexican bonds which Mexico was unwilling, or 
unable, to pay. Complaint was also made that life and prop- 
erty were not safe in Mexico. In order to prevent the 
threatened European interference the United States offered 
aid or credit to help Mexico pay her debts. Mexico consented 
to this arrangement, but when Secretary Seward gave infor- 
mation of this to the allied powers, this proposal for a peaceful 
settlement was rejected. One excuse for European inter- 
vention in Mexico was now taken away, but these allied 
powers still proposed, in effect, to make war on Mexico in 
order to set up a new government there, on the pretext that 
foreign residents were not safe in that country. 

The United States did not deny the right, in international 
law, of one nation to make war on another for reasons deemed 
good and sufficient by the belligerent nations. But the 
reasons and motives behind this European war of intervention 
in Mexico were not above suspicion. This was seen in the 
letter of the French Emperor ordering his military commander 
to march upon the capital of Mexico: "To redress grievances, 
to establish bounds to the extension of the United States further 
south, to prevent her from becoming the sole dispenser of the 
products of the new world J' So it was seen to be a movement 



364 THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 

for power and commercial influence with a view to restricting 
the power, influence, and importance of the United States. 
The movement was a scheme of Napoleon III of France, 
who wished to lay in Mexico the foundations of French su- 
premacy, " to prevent the preponderance of the United States 
in the trade of the western hemisphere and to turn the tide of 
race predominance in the Americas in favor of the Latins." ^ 

In April, 1862, at another conference of the three European 
powers, England and Spain objected because France had gone 
beyond the terms of the first agreement in giving military 
aid in Mexico to the party favoring an imperial government, 
and these two powers withdrew from further cooperation. 
France, whose money claims against Mexico were smaller and 
more questionable than the other powers, was now left to 
herself in Mexico. She proceeded by military aid to the im- 
perialist party to establish that party in possession of the 
Mexican capital. The republican constitutional president ^' 
was driven out, and, without even a pretense of getting the 
consent of the Mexican people, the French proceeded to set 
up an imperial form of government and to offer the throne to 
the Archduke Maximilian of Austria. The misguided Maxi- 
milian accepted the crown and the French Emperor acknowl- 
edged his government and entered into a treaty with it to give 
it support and security by military aid. 

Here was a plain palpable violation of the Monroe doctrine. 
Here was a clear undisputed European interposition for the 
purpose of "controlling the destiny" of an American state. 
The interests of the United States were certainly involved. 
If the Monroe doctrine were not to be asserted and defended 
in such a flagrant intervention in the affairs of an American 
state, it is not to be doubted that it could never again have 
been consistently referred to as a principle or precedent in our 
foreign relations. It is important to note how the precedent 

1 Bancroft's Life of Seward, II, 423. 

2 Juarez. 



THE NATION IN ITS FOREIGN RELATIONS 365 

of Monroe and Adams was followed by Lincoln, Seward, and 
Grant 

This French intervention in Mexico occurred at a time Lincoln, Se ward 
when the United States had its hands tied by the mighty ^"^ ^''^^ 

■' ^ / uphold the 

struggle of the Civil War. It may have been purposely Monroe 

timed with that embarrassment in view. But before the i^o^trme 

close of the war Congress denounced the French intervention. 

President Lincoln's Secretary of State, William H. Seward, 

in his diplomatic correspondence with Napoleon's government, 

plainly restated the Monroe doctrine and America's position,— 

that we regarded France as a belligerent in Mexico, with the 

right to occupy Mexican soil for war purposes, but that France 

had no right "to destroy the domestic republican government 

of Mexico and to establish there an imperial system under the , 

sovereignty of a European prince." The presence of such a 

government, so long as it should endure, could not but be 

regarded by the people of the United States as injurious and 

menacing to their interests and republican institutions. 

Every state on the American continent had a right to secure 

for itself a republican government, and any attempt by foreign 

powers to control these states or to prevent their enjoyment of 

such institutions as they wished to establish was wrongful 

and antagonistic to the United States. 

This was a fair expression of the Monroe doctrine. General 
Grant enforced it. He looked upon the French intervention 
in Mexico "as a direct act of war against the United States 
and supposed as a matter of course that the United States 
would treat it as such were their hands free to strike." He 
had reason to think that Lincoln felt the same way. Ac- 
cordingly, "after the surrender of Lee," says Grant, "I sent 
Sheridan with a corps to the Rio Grande to have them where 
they might aid Juarez ^ in expelling the French from Mexico. 
These troops got off before they could be stopped, and Sheridan 
distributed them up and down the river to the consternation 
^ The Mexican Republican leader. 



366 THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 

of the French." ^ The French government asked their with- 
drawal, but Seward insisted upon the withdrawal of the 
French, and the result was that the French troops were with- 
drawn and Maximilian's government toppled to its fall. 
The Mexican Republicans regained power and MaximiKan 
was captured and shot. 

In 1895 a long-standing boundary dispute between Vene- 
zuela and British Guiana came to a head. Venezuela claimed 
that for many years Great Britain had been gradually ex- 
tending the boundaries of British Guiana at the expense of 
Venezuela. Diplomatic relations between Great Britain and 
Venezuela had been broken ofif and the question arose as to 
whether Great Britain was seeking to acquire, or colonize, 
territory in America contrary to the Monroe doctrine. The 
United States had sought to get this boundary dispute settled 
by arbitration, but Great Britain refused and questioned the 
right of the United States to interfere. She contended that 
the dispute was of concern merely to Great Britain and 
Venezuela. But President Cleveland and his Secretary of 
State, Mr. Richard Olney, insisted that the United States 
was concerned and had a right to interpose, in harmony 
with the traditional American policy of the Monroe doctrine. 
Secretary Olney acknowledged that the Monroe doctrine did 
not make the United States the protector of other American 
states, nor reheve any of them from obligations as fixed by 
international law, nor prevent any European power from 
enforcing such obligations or from inflicting merited punish- 
ment for the breach of them; but "its single purpose and 
object" was that "no European power or combination of 
powers should forcibly deprive an American state of the 
right and power of seK-government and of shaping for itself 
its own political fortunes and destinies." This was held to 
mean that none of its territory should be forcibly taken from 
an American state by a European power. 

^ Memoirs of Grant, Vol. II, pp. 545-546. 



THE NATION IN ITS FOREIGN RELATIONS 367 

Was this a part of the Monroe Doctrine? President Cleve- 
land thought so. In December, 1895, the President sent a 
message to Congress in which he aiSrmed that "the tradi- 
tional and established policy of this Government is firmly- 
opposed to a forcible increase by any European power of its 
territorial possession on this continent"; and inasmuch as 
Great Britain had refused impartial arbitration, a commis- 
sion of the United States should investigate the matter and 
come to its own decision, "When such report is made and 
accepted it will, in my opinion," said President Cleveland, 
"be the duty of the United States to resist by every means 
in its power, as a wilful aggression on its rights and interests, 
the appropriation by Great Britain of any lands or the exer- 
cise of governmental jurisdiction over any territory which 
after investigation we have determined of right belong to 
Venezuela." 

This meant that the United States was ready to go to war, 
if need be, to defend this interpretation of the Monroe doc- 
trine. Neither Great Britain nor America desired war, and 
the outcome of the matter was that England and Venezuela 
consented to leave their boundary dispute to an international 
tribunal. War was thus avoided and the Monroe doctrine was 
vindicated or enlarged. 

Thus we see that from the time of its original announcement '^^^ Enlarged 
in 1823 the Monroe doctrine has been enlarged and extended Doctrine 
in the public mind of the United States until it has come to 
mean, in a general way, "America for the Americans," that we 
must prevent all European interference with • American affairs 
(in politics and government) and prevent the transfer of any 
American territory to any European power ;^ that no European 

^ Thus, while Spain owned Cuba and Denmark owned certain islands 
in the West Indies we would have objected, and did so object, to the 
transfer of these islands to any other European power. Spain and 
Denmark were weak or declining powers. It was the threatening 
increase in America of the strong powers with which we are chiefly 
concerned. 



368 



THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 



State shall be allowed to extend its system of government to 
this continent; and that the Monroe doctrine commits the 
United States to the obligation of defending the independence 
of our sister republics on this side of the Atlantic and of pro- 
tecting the territory of Central and South America against 
settlement, appropriation, or invasion by any European power. 
This is different from the original Monroe doctrine, but it 
has become under that name the accepted policy of the United 
States, and it is for this reason that a powerful navy and 
adequate "preparedness" are necessary under present world 
conditions as the best means of preserving peace for the western 
world by preventing European intervention and aggression 
toward the weaker American powers. 

Will the European nations, with strong military power 
to back them, seek to establish colonies in the Western hemi- 
sphere, or to obtain territory by purchase or conquest for 
this purpose, in order to extend their trade, their power, their 
empire, and their imperial control to any part of America? 
If so, the Monroe policy would call upon the United States 
to resist such designs. Our first duty is to protect our own 
territory and the lives and property of our citizens. Is it not 
also our duty to stand by the guarantees of the enlarged 
Monroe doctrine by protecting the territory of South America 
and the Western hemisphere from settlement or invasion on 
the part of European powers? Should we not assist our sister 
republics on this side of the Atlantic to defend their inde- 
pendence rather than leave them open to attack or appro- 
priation by stronger powers? 

It is clearly our duty to prevent any European nation 
from extending its ambition for power and empire to the 
American continents, "peaceably if we can, forcibly if we 
must." This may be done without war, indeed it may be a 
means of preventing war. 

In the interest of world peace President Wilson proposed 
even a larger application of the Monroe doctrine, that it should 



^itlp-fiftl) (Longrrss of t^c Initfb ^tatts d ^k 

^t th« I'itst J^cssiou, 



li-'gan and held at the City of Washington on Monday, the secon.! ua 
one thousand nine hundred and se'.entcen. 



JOINT RESOLUTION 



Dcflariii.tc that a slate of war exists Im-I weeii (lie liiifierial Ocrniali (ioveiimiciil 
iind the (uiverniiieiit aii'l the jx'Ople of the rnitcd States and iiiakin- 
provision U> jirosoeule the saine. 



Whereas the Imperial (ieniiali (ioNcninieiit lias coinmilted repeat. tI ails ol' 
war atraiiisi iln- (inveniiiieiit and the peoph. of liie Tnited Stales of 
America: Therefore he it 

lictiihid hij ihv Sriinir aii'l llimsr ,,/ Hrpn's, iil<il'trrs nf »„■ V „lud Sf'ili.s 
itj America ;'.) <_'<iiii/n-s.t uxsrinhli-d . That the >lale of war l)ftw<'en,t]ie I'nited 
States and the ImiH-rial (icrman (iuvoriiiiieiit whieli has thus hoen thrust upon 
tho I'niteti States Ik herebj' formallj' declared; and that the J*resid<'iit he, and 
he is hereby, authorized and directed to employ the entiit; naval and military 
forces of the I'nited States and the resources of the (ioveriiuient to carryomsar 
against the Imix-rial German Government; and to briag the conflict to a 
successful termination all of the resources of the country are hereby plwlged 1>\ 
the Congress of the United States. 



^^k<^^^t/3--^An( 



Speaker of the Jlome of Bepreseniatircs. 
Yice President of Ike Umied States and 




Recognition of the German War against the United States 



THE NATION IN ITS FOREIGN RELATIONS 369 



be, not an American doctrine, but a world doctrine: " That the 
nations should with one accord adopt the doctrine of President 
Monroe as the doctrine of the world; that no nation should 
seek to extend its policy over any other nation or people, 
but that every people should be left free to determine its own 
policy, its own way of development, unhindered, unthreatened, 
unafraid, the little along with the great and the powerful." 
This would make for peace with all nations, which is America's 
chief desire. 

To promote this noble end America found it necessary 
to depart from her traditional pohcy of isolation and of 
avoiding all "entangling alliances." Great Britain and 
France have already assented to the appHcation of the 
Monroe doctrine on certain occasions. We might enter into 
treaty arrangements with these great powers by which they 
would consent to recognize and support the Monroe policy 
as a permanent rule of conduct. The proposal has already 
been made to induce the "ABC Powers" (Argentina, Brazil, 
Chili) to recognize its validity and to cooperate with us in its 
defense, and we may find it desirable to enter into a Pan- 
American alhance for this cause. The permanent purpose 
of the Monroe doctrine is to keep the peace on this side 
of the Atlantic against aggression and attack by European 
powers, in order that every nation in the two Americas may 
be left free to control its own territory and work out its own 
destiny and progress in its own way. America must be pre- 
pared for that defense as long as danger threatens from any 
war-making nation of Europe. 

The Great War revealed the nation in Europe against 
whose hostility and spirit of conquest America needs to be on 
her guard. The imperial and military rulers of Prussia, with 
their purpose of obtaining "a place in the sun," have looked, 
not only to Asia and Africa, but to South America for com- 
mercial and colonial enlargement. The Monroe doctrine has 
been an obstacle in their path. German hostility to that 



The Monroe 
Doctrine 
a " World 
Doctrine " 



370 



THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 



doctrine is well known. On the other hand, Great Britain is 
an American power, with more territory in the Western World 
than has the United States itself. Great Britain helped to 
originate the Monroe doctrine in 1823; she has since gener- 
ously recognized it in restraint of her own aggrandizement, 
while her navy, together with that of America, has been the 
main defense against European encroachment. 

Britain and America are territorial neighbors. With an un- 
fortified frontier boundary line of 3000 miles between them, the 
English-speaking peoples of America and Canada have lived 
side by side in an unbroken peace for more than one hundred 
years. In the Great War they fought together to save them- 
selves and the world against an autocratic, war-making mili- 
tary power which would override the Monroe doctrine to 
extend its dominion in America as soon as its interests 
prompted and its power permitted. 

The world struggle has made it clear that the English- 
speaking peoples throughout the world should stand to- 
gether, if not in an alliance, at least in an entente cordiale 
and a good understanding. They are democratic self- 
governing nations, inheriting common traditions and habits, 
with a common language, with common political ideas and 
institutions based on the same historic foundations of civil 
liberty. They have common interests to defend against 
conquest and encroachment. Their mutual cooperation and 
support of one another in international affairs will not only 
help America to maintain the Monroe doctrine but it wiU 
promote throughout the world the underlying purpose of that 
doctrine, — the self-direction of all nations and the estabhsh- 
ment of a firm foundation for a just and lasting peace through- 
out the world. America does not wish to be Germanized nor 
to have cultivated among her people the Prussian idea of 
world conquest and war. To prevent this, and to bring it 
about that the world may be ruled by reason and seK control 
instead of brute force, that the world may be made a safe 



THE NATION IN ITS FOREIGN RELATIONS 371 

place in which individuals and democratic nations may de- 
velop their own lives without fear of becoming the prey of 
foreign aggression, America was forced to depart from her 
isolation and enter the great World War. 

War, Belligerency, and Neutral Rights 

War is the use of force among nations, a contest of armed 
public forces, conducted according to recognized rules of war. 
Whether it is right or wrong depends upon the purpose for 
which it is made and the method in which it is waged. It may 
be waged to enforce a right or redress a wrong, if reason and 
a sense of justice fail to accomplish these ends. It is the last 
resort of nations, and each nation must answer to its own 
conscience and to the judgment of the world for its motives 
and its conduct. 

A belligerent is one of the warring powers. If an insur- 
rection or rebeUion occurs within a state the insurgents may be 
recognized as a belligerent if they show, as a matter of fact, 
that they are able to carry on a public civil war in a legal 
sense; that is, if they can show that they are politically 
organized under a responsible government and can protect 
the lives and property of citizens and residents in the territory 
over which the insurgent government has control. In 1861- 
1865 the independence of the Southern Confederacy was not 
recognized by any foreign power; the South did not succeed 
in establishing that; but the Confederacy was recognized 
as a belligerent. The North felt that England was a little 
hasty in doing this, but Mr. Lincoln, acting for the government 
of the Union, practically recognized the belligerent status of 
the South when he declared the Southern ports in a state of 
blockade (April 19, 1861). This recognition admitted the 
South to international standing only so far as conducting war 
was concerned. 

Belligerency carries with it the right to visit and search Beiugerent 
neutral vessels at sea; to destroy enemy vessels without ^ *^ 



372 



THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 



being guilty of piracy; to capture contraband goods; to insti- 
tute a blockade; to commission privateers and armed cruisers, 
to take and exchange prisoners, and to do all things which a 
civilized povv^er may do in carrying on war. But if belliger- 
ency arises from an insurrection or rebellion it does not involve 
making treaties with foreign powers or exchanging diplomatic 
agents. That would be to recognize the independence of the 
insurgent belligerent and to receive it permanently into the 
family of nations, which should not be done until the contest 
between the insurgents and the parent state is held to he 
decided. 

When two nations are at war the belligerents have certain 
rights which neutral states are bound, to respect. The neutral 
states, also, have certain rights which are to be respected by 
the belligerent powers in their conduct of the war. A neutral 
state is one that abstains from the war, rendering no aid or 
service to either belligerent. It seeks to be impartial and to 
take no part in the contest, but to maintain the usual peaceful 
relations with both belligerents. This is not always easy to 
do, because the interests of belligerents and neutrals are likely 
to come into conflict. The neutral wishes to be free from the 
losses and burdens of the war and to have the trade of its 
people with other nations go on without interruption. But it 
is the right of either belligerent to stop, if he can, the transport 
to his enemy of all goods or articles which will reinforce that 
enemy and enable him to prolong the struggle. For this 
reason naval power, or sea power, is very important, and the 
nations that command the seas have a tremendous advantage 
over their enemies. They can secure munitions, foodstuffs, and 
all kinds of supplies from neutral nations and from their own 
dominions across the seas. 

In the World War English sea warfare consisted, chiefly, 
not in great battles, but in guarding convoys and supply 
ships, and in hunting down a few German cruisers in 
the beginning of the war and in "bottling up" the German 



THE NATION IN ITS FOREIGN RELATIONS 373 

fleet. When a war breaks out, a merchant vessel of one of 
the belHgerents may deem it unsafe to continue its peaceful 
commercial voyages, if the enemy has greater sea power. It 
may, therefore, take refuge in a neutral port, and not venture 
out to sea where the vessel and cargo might be captured or 
destroyed by an enemy cruiser hovering about 6n the look- 
out for such prey. A number of large German vessels of 
the Hamburg-American and North German Lloyd lines were 
hospitably protected in American ports, until America was 
forced into the war; then they were taken over (sequestered) 
by the United States for naval and transport uses, as a bel- 
ligerent has a right to do with enemy property, settlement to 
be made at the close of the war. 

If a war vessel enters a neutral port to avoid the enemy 
or to escape from stress of weather, the neutral is bound to 
give notice that the warship 'must leave in twenty-four hours. 
If it does not leave within the time limit, to escape or to 
face the enemy, then the vessel and crew are "interned," 
that is, kept in the neutral country during the continuance 
of the war. The crew may be confined within certain limits 
by the neutral or paroled on a pledge of honor that they 
will not escape to serve their country again while the war 
lasts. If soldiers on land are forced by retreat into neutral 
territory they are also interned for the war. A neutral must 
not allow its territory to be used by a belligerent, not even 
as a refuge, nor as a base for transmitting wireless messages 
from coast stations to belligerent warships, nor allow a 
belligerent airplane even to fly over it. 

In the process of stopping all goods and reinforcements going 
to the enemy which may help the enemy continue the war, a Right of visit 

1 IT 1" and Search 

belhgerent may not only capture or destroy all enemy vessels, 
but the belhgerent may also stop at sea any neutral vessel, may 
visit it (board it) and search it and take it into port, and take 
from it all contraband goods on board which the beUigerent 
finds are destined for the enemy. This gives the bellig- 



374 THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 

erent a good deal of control over the commerce of the neutral 
Contraband jj^ l^jj^g qJ -^g^j._ -pj^g belligerent may absolutely prohibit, 
if he. can, all trade .with its enemy in contraband goods and all 
trade of any kind with places and ports that are besieged or 
blockaded. Contraband goods are those which are useful for 
military purposes. It is impossible to make a list of contra- 
band articles. What is contraband may depend upon cir- 
cumstances, or the destination of the goods, or a treaty 
agreement between nations. The chief point is whether the 
articles are intended for, or are likely to be used for, military 
purposes. They will be released or condemned according to 
that. It is considered legitimate in war to starve, or exhaust, 
a place or nation into subjection. Vicksburg in 1863 was 
forced to surrender in this way, and when the Union blockade 
of Southern ports was completed in 1865 the Southern Con- 
federacy was almost starved out, even before Lee surrendered 
at Appomattox. 

A neutral nation does not attempt to transport contra- 
band goods to a belligerent — ■ that would be an act or a 
Private Trade in causc of war — • but the individual citizens of that nation may 

Contraband 

Goods do SO in the course of trade for their own gain. A neutral 

nation may allow its people to engage in contraband trade, 
but they do so at their own risk, as all such trade may be 
treated as illegal by a belligerent and the contraband goods 
be confiscated. That is, if a private merchant ship flying a 
neutral flag is carrying contraband goods to a belligerent port, 
or if it attempts to break through a blockade, it is engaging 
in a trade which the other belligerent has a right under inter- 
national law to prevent if it can. If it has the power to do so, 
the belligerent may seize such neutral ship and penalize it. 
The penalty may be the confiscation of the goods and some- 
times of the ship, and these penalties are imposed by the prize 
courts of the belligerent country. That is, international law 
gives to the belligerent as a means of defeating its enemy the 
right to stop and search all neutral merchant vessels on the 



THE NATION IN ITS FOREIGN RELATIONS 375 

high seas or when approaching blockaded ports, for the pur- 
pose of determining the nationahty of the ship and the nature 
of the goods. 

Contraband trade and the violation of blockade must be 
prevented by the beUigerent, not by the neutral. The citi- 
zens of a neutral nation have a right to engage in unin- 
terrupted trade so long as the beUigerents have not the 
will nor the power to prevent it. Shipment of munitions 
and war supplies from America to the Alhes in the 
World War, while America was a neutral, was freely en- 
gaged in, only because the Central Powers (Germany and 
Austria) had not the sea power to prevent it. The pro- 
posal to have the United States Government put an em- 
bargo on munitions and war supplies and prohibit their 
export was made in the interest of Germany and Austria. 
That would have been an unneutral act, hostile to the Allies, 
as it would have changed the rules and conditions for the '^^^ Question. 

of Embargo on 

conduct of the war after the war had begun. Any belUg- Munitions 
erent that would attempt to carry the goods home could 
get them. That Great Britain and France were able to 
get the goods because of sea power, while Germany was not, 
was one of the fortunes of war. If America had helped 
Germany and Austria by preventing the Allies from ship- 
ping war supplies from our ports, then that nation would 
have the advantage in the war which had done most to 
prepare for war. If it were known that such a policy 
would be pursued by neutral nations, in case war should 
arise, then all nations in times of peace would feel compelled 
to turn their energies to military purposes, to establishing 
munition plants, to storing up war supplies, to raising and 
drilling armies, and to directing their industries and govern- 
ment in preparation for war, since each nation in war would 
have to depend on its own resources. 

America as a Peace Power has always contended for the America's 

struggle for 

protection of neutral rights and the enlargement of neutral Neutral Rights 



376 THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 

interests. During the Civil War, while the United States was 
a belligerent, our interests were on the other side of the question 
and we insisted on holding neutrals to a strict accountability; 
but usually, as in European wars, American interests have lain 
with the neutrals. During the Napoleonic wars (1793-1815), 
when nearly all the powers of Europe were belligerents, for 
or against Napoleon, America sought to maintain her neu- 
trality. Both Great Britain and France committed aggression 
and violence against American commerce. The depredations 
of France brought on a state of quasi-war with that country 
in 1798, and later the wrongs inflicted by England upon the 
sea, in stopping and seizing American vessels and cargoes, 
interrupting American commerce, and impressing American 
seamen, brought on the War of 181 2, America declared 
for "Free trade and sailors' rights." This did not mean 
opposition to a protective tariff, but it meant the "freedom of the 
seas," — that the high seas should not be under the jurisdiction 
or control of any nation but should be open to the uninterrupted 
trade of all nations, and that the belligerents should be re- 
quired to interfere with neutral trade as little as possible. 

Our interests have generally led us to favor the restriction 
of belligerent power and the enlargement of neutral rights. 
America has, therefore, been ready to contend for all rules 
favorable to neutrals proposed from time to time, — that 
contraband goods should be reduced to the minimum and 
that foodstuffs (which the United States is always in a position 
to furnish belligerents) should not be included; that a neutral 
ship should be allowed to carry enemy goods, if they were not 
Principles of contraband; in harmony with the maxim, "Free ships make 

the Declaration / \ 

of Paris, 1856 free goods," that neutral goods (not contraband) should be 
free from capture and confiscation even if they were in an 
enemy's ship; and that a blockade to be binding must be effec- 
tive, — that is, it must be maintained by a force sufficient 
really to prevent access to the coast of the enemy. 

A blockade is the forcible closing of a belligerent's ports or 



THE NATION IN ITS FOREIGN RELATIONS 377 

harbors. It suspends neutral commerce with such ports. 
In exercising this right a beUigerent may designate a whole 
coast line as blockaded, or the mouth of a river, an entrance 
to a gulf or bay, and he may prevent access to blockaded 
places by ships of war, or by batteries if these can be planted 
on land. A blockade must be announced to neutral powers, i.e. 
notice must be given; it must be applied impartially to the 
ships of all nations; and it can be applied only to an enemy's 
ports and coasts. A paper blockade is a mere declaration of 
blockade, and a neutral vessel is not to be condemned for 
intention to disregard it, if searched at sea and evidence is 
found from the ship's papers that it is destined to or from 
a port merely declared under blockade. The neutral vessel 
before it may be condemned must be "caught in the act" 
of actually running the blockade, or attempting to do so. 
There must be an effective blockading force. 

These principles, in the interest of neutrals, which America 
has long stood for, have now become international law. 
They were set forth by the Five Great European Powers in 
the famous Declaration of Paris in 1856. This Declaration 
added another principle, "Privateering is abolished." The privateering 
United States did not accept this at the time (though we 
now act upon it) because, not having a large navy, we wished 
to rely upon privateers, in case of war, as destroyers of an 
enemy's commerce. We proposed a more liberal policy in the 
interest of peaceful neutral nations. America proposed to 
abolish privateering provided the Great Powers of Europe 
would agree to refrain from the capture, confiscation, and 
destruction of all private property at sea. The Powers refused 
to sanction this liberal enlargement of neutral interests. It 
would have reduced sea warfare to blockades and sieges and 
combats between public armed vessels of the belligerents. 
American influence will be helpful in bringing about in 
time this enlightened policy in the interest of peace-keeping 
nations. 



378 THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 

The Submarine Soon after the European War of 1014 began, the com- 

in Warfare: . ^ ^ . i , 

As a Commerce nierce of Germany was swept from the seas and the few war 
Destroyer cruisers which she had on the open ocean were run down and 

destroyed. She attempted to retaUate by trying to destroy 
the commerce of her enemies in order to prevent their 
getting food and war suppHes from over-sea, by the use of 
the submarine, a new vessel in naval warfare. As a means of 
enabling her to strike at English commerce, Germany is- 
sued a decree declaring that a "zone of war" existed within 
the waters adjacent to the British Isles and that all vessels 
flying the flag of Great Britain, or of any of her allies, 
were Hable to destruction in those waters and that travelers 
saiHng in the war zone on ships of Great Britain or her 
allies did so at their own risk. The United States protested 
against this decree, warning Germany that if, in pursuance 
of it, American citizens lost their lives, Germany would be 
held to "strict accountabihty." We have pointed out that 
a neutral vessel must submit to visit and search to enable 
the belligerent to see if contraband goods are on board. 
The merchantman belonging to a belligerent power may be 
captured as a prize and taken into port; or if this is not 
possible the merchant vessel may be sunk. But before sinking 
a merchant vessel of the enemy, it is the bounden duty of the 
belligerent to provide for the safety of the passengers and crew. 
If the enemy merchantman has guns on board and makes 
forcible resistance when hailed by an enemy war vessel, or if 
the merchantman attempts to escape by flight when ordered 
to stop for the purpose of visit, then the belligerent war vessel 
may sink the merchantman, and if the Hves of the innocent 
passengers are forfeited the commander of the merchantman 
would be responsible. 

The passengers and crew of merchantmen are innocent 

The Lusitania noncombatants who have no part nor lot in the war and are 

not subject to its penalties. They have not forfeited their 

lives by travehng on a peaceful passenger vessel belonging 



THE NATION IN ITS FOREIGN RELATIONS 379 

to citizens of one of the belligerents, and no commander of 
the other belligerent has a right to condemn them to death. 
It was failure to give warning and allow time for passengers 
and crew to escape that made the sinking of the Lusitania 
such a heinous wrong. Men, women, and children were 
drowned in the sea, without any chance for their lives, and 
among them over one hundred American citizens. It was a 
barbarous atrocity. 

The United States solemnly protested against this dis- 
regard of "those rules of fairness, reason, justice, and 
humanity which all modern opinion regards as impera- 
tive." It is practically impossible for the oJSficers of a 
submarine to visit a merchantman at sea and examine her 
papers and cargo. It is practically impossible for them to 
make a prize of her; and if they cannot put a prize crew 
on board of her, they cannot sink her without leaving her 
crew and all on board of her at the mercy of the sea in her 
small boats. Therefore it is clear that submarines cannot 
be used against merchantmen without "the inevitable viola- 
tion of the sacred principles of justice and humanity."^ 

America and World-Peace 
One of the problems in international law now confronting ^^Jf^^a and 

^ . ^ the Rights of 

America relates to the duty which devolves upon her in refer- Nations 
ence to the rights of nations. The United States has united 
in an Institute of International Law representing twenty-one 
republics in North and South America. This Institute or 
Conference has announced certain rights which its members 
claim belong to all nations. These rights relate especially 
to the violation of neutral territory and the rights of neutral 
nations against the aggressions of warring nations. 

I. Every nation has a right to exist. As one human being 
has no right to take the life of another, so no nation may take 
or threaten the life of another nation. The life of a small 
^ President Wilson's note to Germany, May 13, 1915. 



380 THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 

nation is just as sacred and as precious as the life of a large 
nation. 

2. Every nation has the right to independence, as every 
man to the pursuit of happiness. It should be allowed to 
control itseK and grow and develop in its own way. 

3. Every nation is, in law, the equal of every other nation. 
The perfect equality and entire independence of all nations 
is a fundamental principle of public law. In a society of 
nations all are on the same footing and each may "assume 
among the powers of the earth the separate and equal station 
to which the laws of nature and of nature's God entitle it," 
says the Declaration of Independence. The relative power of 
a nation, whether it be strong or weak, makes no difference. 

4. Every nation has a right to the territories within its 
defined boundaries. These should be held to be inviolable. 

5. All nations have an equal right to the uninterrupted 
use of the seas. On the high seas all states meet on a footing 
of absolute equality and independence. There no state has 
a right to exercise any authority upon the subject or citizen 
of any other state. This refers of course to conditions of 
peace. 

These rights which each nation has are entitled to be pro- 
tected by all other nations. Right and duty are correlative. 
The right of one imposes a duty on all to observe the right. 

After the World War is over the greatest problem of 
the nations wiU be how to prevent war. There is a 
rising demand in America that the influence of this nation 
among the other nations of the world should be so used 
as to lead to the substitution of reason for force in the 
conduct of nations. We must insist upon the substitution of 
permanent peace for hideous war. What are the means 
proposed by which the United States may lend her aid 
in bringing this about? How are differences between 
nations to be settled by reason instead of by force and 
destructive war? 



THE NATION IN ITS FOREIGN RELATIONS 381 



1. More democratic control of foreign affairs. It has been 
observed that wars are brought on by monarchs, rulers, and 
diplomats for ambitious, dynastic, and financial reasons. 
The people who have to bear the burdens and pay the taxes 
of war and give their lives in its battles are not consulted. 
This is largely true. Three or four men on the war staff or 
in the foreign ofiice beyond the control of the people may de- 
cide the awful issues of peace or war, of life and death and 
poverty, for millions of people. This is true not only in 
monarchical countries but in democratic countries. Foreign 
policies, like domestic policies, should be made more respon- 
sible to the people, so that if there is to be war the people may 
choose it with their eyes open, or that the people may have the 
power to determine, if war is to come, that it shall be fought 
only in a just, righteous, and vital cause. 

2. Arbitration treaties. America has made a number of such 
treaties with other nations. A number of these were renewed 
in 1 9 14. In general such treaties agree that when differences 
arise between the United States and an,other power they 
should be submitted for discussion and decision to an impartial 
tribunal. Such an arbitration tends to remove ill feeling 
and to promote good will, and while all wars may not be 
prevented in this way, every successful arbitration, like that 
of our treaty with Great Britain (1871) resulting in the Geneva 
Arbitration, tends to reduce the probability of war. Great 
Britain and the United States also arbitrated the Venezuela 
boundary dispute in 1899, and in this spirit of forbearance, good 
will, and arbitration these two nations have kept the peace 
for over one hundred years. It should be our purpose so 
to act and live with all the nations of the world. 

3. The Hague tribunal, a permanent court of arbitration. 
There have been two conferences of the nations at The Hague 
(1899, 1907) in an effort to promote international arbitration 
and to induce the nations to recognize a permanent tribunal 
for the settlement of disputes, and to proceed in their conduct 



Foreign 
Affairs and 
Popular Rule 



Arbitration by 
Treaties 



The Hague 
Tribunal 



382 



THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 



An Interna- 
tional Court 
for Judging 
Disputes be- 
tween Nations 



toward one another on principles and rules agreed to by a 
peaceful conference of nations. The Hague Conference has 
proposed several ways by which nations may be aided in 
avoiding war. One is that friendly nations may be encouraged 
to offer their mediation (their "good offices") to two nations 
that have not been able to settle their differences by diplomacy. 
Another is that when peace is endangered a commission of 
inquiry may be appointed to aid in the solution of the disputes. 
But especially the Hague Conference has undertaken to main- 
tain a permanent court of arbitration, accessible at all times, 
competent to try all arbitration cases unless the parties agree 
to a special tribunal. This permanent court is to sit at The 
Hague. Each contracting power wilhng to enter upon this 
plan may select not more than four persons versed in inter- 
national law, "of the highest moral reputation," and these 
representatives of the various nations constitute a list as a 
court of arbitrators. From this list the two nations whose 
differences are to be arbitrated may select the tribunal. Each 
party to the dispute selects two arbitrators from the list of the 
fuU court, but only one so selected may be from among the 
persons named by it as members of the permanent court. 
After the four arbitrators are chosen, these four choose an 
umpire. If three of the four cannot agree upon an umpire, 
a third power chooses one. 

To such a court, high minded, fair, impartial, created to 
preserve peace and avoid war, it is proposed that nations should 
submit their differences, on all subjects that are justiciable; 
that is, such as can be settled on principles of law, justice, and 
equity. This involves an international judiciary, or the judi- 
cial settlement of international disputes. It means that just 
as individuals have united in the community and the state 
to avoid strife and private war and community feuds and to 
preserve the order and peace of society, so nations are going 
to unite and submit their differences to an international 
court of reason and equity. 



THE NATION IN ITS FOREIGN RELATIONS 383 

The individual in society can be controlled. If he is quarrel- i-^ague for the 
some and lawless, if he insists on fighting and shooting and of Peace 
killing some of his neighbors, the state can imprison him or 
put him where he can do no harm. The police and the sheriffs 
and the miUtia exist to keep the peace against such danger- 
ous characters. But there is no international police, no inter- 
national power to enforce the judgment of the Hague Court 
after a quarrel has been arbitrated. If there is a quarrelsome 
warUke nation bent on enlarging its boundaries and its power, 
which insists upon going on the warpath to shoot and kill 
and destroy, how can such a nation be restrained? It will 
have to be restrained like an outlaw among men, — by force, 
by a combination of nations for this purpose. A force must 
be created so much greater than the force of any nation or 
any alliance hitherto formed that no nation or combination 
of nations can face or withstand it. 

It seems that the United States is entering upon a new era a New Era 
in connection with foreign nations. Washington and Monroe ^oreten"*^^ 
insisted upon a policy of isolation. This was a wise policy for Relations 
the tiihe, but the times have changed. America is now a 
world power and must assume its responsibility as such. 
Isolation is no longer possible. It took the Pilgrim Fathers 
sixty days to reach America from Europe. It takes five days 
now, and communication is instantaneous. The Atlantic 
Ocean is no longer a barrier but a highway between nations, 
and for certain purposes a subway. Responsibilities are 
forced upon us which we cannot avoid. 

One of our public men has well expressed the spirit in 
which we should act and the poUcy by which we should be 
controlled in this new era in American history: "We 
wish for no victories but those of peace; for no territory 
except our own; for no sovereignty except the sovereignty 
over ourselves. We deem the independence and equal rights 
of the smallest and weakest member of the family of nations 
entitled to as much respect as those of the greatest empire, 



384 



THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 



and we deem the observance of that respect the chief guarantee 
of the weak against the oppression of the strong. We neither 
claim nor desire any rights, or privileges, or powers, that we 
do not freely concede to every American republic. We wish 
to increase our prosperity, to expand our trade, to grow in 
wealth, in wisdom, and in spirit, but our conception of the true 
way to accomplish this is not to pull down others and profit 
by their ruin, but to help all friends to a common prosperity 
and a common growth that we may all become greater and 
stronger together." ^ 



TOPICS AND QUERIES 

Debate: (i) "Resolved, that America should abandon the policy 
of isolation from European affairs." 

(2) "Resolved, that the Monroe Doctrine should be 

abandoned by the United States." 

(3) "Resolved, that President Cleveland was not justified 

in asserting the Monroe Doctrine in the Vene- 
zuela case." 

(4) "Resolved, that the United States should join the 

league for the Enforcement of Peace." 
How can the rights and independence of small nations be made 

secure against aggression and conquest from the strong nations? 
What proposals are now outstanding to enable the nations to act 

together for permanent peace? 
Would it be wise, or possijjle, to refer to the people the question of 

whether the nation should enter upon a war? 
How can international law be enforced? 
How has the Monroe Doctrine changed and grown since it was 

announced? Did Monroe declare a fact, a principle, or a policy? 



REFERENCES 

Consult recent periodical literature. There are any number of articles 
relating to the Monroe Doctrine and American Foreign Relations 
in the magazines of recent years. 

Coolidge, Archibald C. The United States as a World Power. 

Dana's Wheaton's International Law. See long footnote on the "Mon- 
roe Doctrine." 
1 Elihu Root at the Pan-American Conference at Rio de Janeiro, 

July 31, 1906. 



THE NATION IN ITS FOREIGN RELATIONS 385 

Davis, George B. International Law. 

Foster, John W. A Century of American Diplomacy. 

Hart, A. B. Foundations of Foreign Policy. 

Henderson, J. B. American Diplomatic Questions. 

Hershey, Amos S. Essentials of International Law. See index on the 
topics of the chapter. 

Reddaway, W. F. The Monroe Doctrine. 

See the Pamphlet Series of the World Peace Foundation, 40 Mt. 
Vernon St., Boston. The High School Library may be placed 
without cost on the mailing list of this organization. 



CHAPTER XX 



Importance of 
Ideals 



I. Principles 
of the 

Declaration of 
Independence 



AMERICAN IDEALS IN GOVERNMENT 

A Nation lives by its faith, by what it beheves. It must 
have visions which it hopes to reaHze and ideals toward 
which it strives. All achievement in government begins 
with an idea. The thought of good government goes before 
the work of good government. Men must believe before they 
will act; they must be devoted to their ideals before they will 
live for them or labor for them. Before the building rises 
the plan must be made; so before a people can erect a state 
to govern justly they must know what justice is and desire it; 
they must keep it before them as an ideal. "We must have 
our eyes steadfastly fixed upon the idea of good if we wish 
to conduct ourselves wisely in private or public life." ^ 

Principles of the Declaration of Independence 

When James Russell Lowell was asked how long he thought 
the American republic would live he replied, "As long as its 
people are true to the ideals of its founders." The founders 
of the American republic announced certain principles as its 
foundation stones. Some of these are in the memorable 
words of the Declaration of Independence, words which ought 
to find a place in the heart and memory of every American 
citizen : 

"We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are 
created equal; that they are endowed by their creator with certain 
inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the 
pursuit of happiness; that to secure these rights, governments are 

1 Plato, The Republic. 
386 



AMERICAN IDEALS IN GOVERNMENT 387 

instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent 
of the governed; that whenever any form of government becomes 
destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or 
abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its founda- 
tion on such principles and organising its powers in such form, 
as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happi- 
ness^ 

This teaches: 

1. That men have rights, — Hfe, Hberty, pursuit of happi- 
ness. This suggests the ideal of individual liberty, that an 
individual has certain fundamental and inalienable rights 
which even the state cannot override. ^ 

2. That governments exist for the benefit of the governed, 
to secure and protect these rights of men. Government is 
for the people. 

3. That these governments "derive their just powers from 
the consent of the governed." Government should be of the 
people and by their consent. 

4. Whenever any government usurps power and becomes 
destructive of the rights of men, then it is the right of the 
people to overthrow that government; but when the people 
have overthrown a perverted government, it is their right 
and duty to establish a new government on whatever principles 
and in whatever form will insure the public safety and hap- 
piness. This teaches the right of revolution and the duty of 
establishing law and order. 

5. Under law and government, and in the protection of the 
rights of the people, "all men are created equal." 

This means "equal rights for all and special privileges for 
none." This is a fundamental maxim of American democracy, 

^ The student will think of conflicts that arise between the rights of 
the individual and the need and welfare of the nation. The public 
welfare is the highest law, to which individual rights have to give way. 
This is especially true in times of war and of great public danger when 
service and sacrifice are expected of all. Then citizens willingly part with 
their liberties for a tinae in order to preserve them forever, 



388 THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 

an ideal which. America has announced as worthy of attain- 
ment. It is that all men, rich or poor, high or low, ignorant 
or learned, white or black, red or yellow, without regard to 
lineage, religion, color, race or previous condition of servitude, 
— that all must be treated without discrimination by law and 
government and be allowed the fullest and freest exercise and 
development of their natural powers. There should be no 
legal barrier to prevent any man from acquiring the property 
and rights or rising to the position to which another member of 
the community is entitled to attain. Accordingly, rank and 
privilege, political position, and the right to rule "cannot 
be hereditary, but must be open to every person who, by 
talent, diligence, and good fortune is capable of attaining 
to them." ^ All qualities and all inequalities should have fair 
play. Let every individual in our democratic society have a 
chance to be and do his best. 

Much of American history has been inconsistent with this 
ideal. Slavery was an utter denial of it. In its political and 
economic life America has not yet attained to it. But the 
ideal still lives as a fundamental article of American faith and 
the people will continue the struggle to realize it in practice. 

In this Declaration of their ideal our fathers "meant to set up a 
standard maxim for free society, which should be familiar to all and 
revered by aU; constantly looked up to, constantly labored for, and 
even though never perfectly attained, constantly approximated, 
and thereby constantly spreading and deepening its influence and 
augmenting the happiness and value of life to all people of aU colors 
everywhere. ... Its authors meant it to be, as, thank God, it is 
now proving itself, a stumbling block to all those who in after times 
might seek to turn a free people back into the hateful paths of despot- 
ism. They knew the proneness of prosperity to breed tyrants, and 
they meant when such should reappear in this fair lan'd and commence 
their vocation, they should find left for them at least one hard nut 
to crack." ^ 

1 Lowell, Essays on Government. 

* Lincoln's speech on the Dred Scott case, June 26, 1857. 



AMERICAN IDEALS IN GOVERNMENT 389 

Application of Principles in the Constitution 

After independence had been attained the Founders of 
the RepubUc sought by a Constitution to secure this hberty 
and equaUty under law. In doing this they set forth other 
ideals. 

The Founders decreed that there shall be freedom of speech, °- ^'^ Liberty 
freedom of the press, freedom of peaceable assembly, freedom 
of petition. The homes of the people shall be secure against 
search, seizure, or intrusion, except by legal process. No 
person shall "be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb for the 
same offense," nor shall any person "be deprived of life, 
liberty, or property without due process of law." The right of 
trial by jury shall be preserved; no excessive bail shall be 
required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel punishments 
inflicted. No bill of attainder or ex post facto law shall be 
passed. The "privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not 
be suspended, unless when in cases of rebellion or invasion 
the public safety may require it," but any one accused of crime 
shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial by an impartial 
jury of the State and district wherein the crime may have been 
committed. He shall not be arrested except by legal process; 
he shall be informed of the exact nature of the accusation; 
he shall be confronted by the witnesses against him, and shall 
not be compelled to testify against himself. 

These are the "muniments of civil liberty" which have come 
down to us from the struggles of EngUsh history. They were 
included in the English "Bill of Rights," and they were 
written in our early State constitutions and in the Constitution 
of the United States.^ All the States recognize and assert 
these principles of civil liberty. We have here the very ideals 
for which the Constitution was established, — to " establish 
justice, insure domestic tranquillity (law and order), provide 
for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and 
^ See Amendments and Art. I, Sec. 9. 



390 THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 

secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity." 
Such are the ideals for which many of our fathers fought 
and died. 

These rights were old, not new, in 1776. They wer& not 
originated in the American Revolution or in the Constitution 
of 1787. The "embattled farmers" who stood at Concord 
and Lexington and the suffering heroes of Valley Forge be- 
lieved in them to the extent of being ready to fight for them, 
but so did their British ancestors. The American Revolution 
was in the nature of a civil war among British subjects. The 
spirit that resisted the ''tyranny of George III," that resisted 
taxation without representation in America and stood for 
local self-government in domestic concerns, was the same 
spirit that opposed the tyranny of the Stuart Kings, and ob- 
jected to their forced loans, benevolences, and ship money. 
It was the same spirit that fought for and established in the 
other English civil war (i 642-1 648) and in the English Revo- 
lution of 1688, the fundamental essential maxims and ideals 
of our liberties, — the rights of self-government and self- 
taxation, of habeas corpus, trial by jury, and the right of 
citizens to hold their rulers, even their kings, responsible for 
their conduct. 

All we have of freedom, all we use or know, 
This our fathers bought for us, long and long ago; 
Ancient right unnoticed as the breath we draw 
Leave to live by no man's leave underneath the law.^ 

Englishmen like Hampden, and Pym, and Cromwell in 1642 
stood on the same ground as did Samuel Adams and Patrick 
Henry, and Thomas Jefferson and George Washington in 
1776.2 

^ Rudyard Kipling, The King. 

2 This is now generally recognized throughout the English-speaking 
world. The spirit of democracy is dominant in Britain. There is a 
monument to Lincoln in Edinburgh, Washington is praised as a great 
Englishman, and patriotic celebrations of the 4th of July are sometimes 
observed in England. 



AMERICAN IDEALS IN GOVERNMENT 391 

These ideals of liberty and representative government have 
come down to us from the English-speaking race. Other 
peoples, too, have beheved in and adopted these ideals and 
principles of government, and through hardships they have 
sought new homes in America where they might live under 
them and enjoy them. But these liberties were first planted 
here by liberty-loving pioneers from Old England, fjom the 
land whose language we speak, whose customs we have fol- 
lowed, whose law and institutions we have continued, whose 
ideas and spirit of liberty we have inherited. 

Among the ideals of American liberty Freedom of Religion 
deserves to be emphasized. "Congress shall make no law 
respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the 
free exercise thereof." This principle was written in our 
Constitution at the very beginning.^ It had been written 
into the State constitutions and into the famous Ordinance 
of 1787 : 

"No person demeaning himself in a peaceable and orderly 
manner shall ever be molested on account of his mode of 
worship or religious sentiments in the said territory." 

This religious freedom has led to certain principles and 
practices that have become fixed in the constitution and 
public opinion of America: 

1. No union between church and state. 

2. No religious organization shall exercise control over 
the political action of individuals or groups. A citizen may 
take his religion but not his politics from his church. 

3. No privileges and no disabilities to the citizen on account 
of his religion. 

4. Equal toleration, equal protection, and fostering care, 
for all religions by the State. 

This freedom of religion, — a free church in a free State — 
our Pilgrim Fathers had sought in the beginning. Seeking 

1 See the ist Amendment, 1789. 



m. Freedom 
of Religion 



392 



THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 



it for themselves they helped to find it for future generations 
of their countrymen. 

What sought they thus afar? 

Bright jewels of the mine? 
The wealth of seas, the spoils of war? 

They sought a faith's pure shrine. 

Ay, call it holy ground, 

The soil where first they trod! 
They have left unstained what there they found — 

Freedom to worship God! ^ 



IV. Obedience 
to Law and 
the Rule 
of the 
Majority 



Another worthy ideal is obedience to law and a ready 
submission to the will of the majority. This is "the vital 
principle of republics." ^ This spirit will save us from turbu- 
lence, violence, anarchy, and unnecessary revolutions. It 
promotes love of order and reverence for law. It may be 
true that no question is settled till it is settled right. The 
majority may vote to settle it wrong a great many times, 
but those who agitate for changes and reforms are led to see 
that in a free democratic republic rights are to be won and 
great changes made not by bloodshed and revolution, but 
by means of public discussion and the processes of public 
law. Government by law is paramount. This spirit will 
also lead majorities in power not to be opressive and violent 
but moderate and considerate toward minorities. 

This emphasizes the importance of a free press, free speech, 
free assembly, free discussion, that the people maybe informed, 
so that false judgments may be avoided, errors corrected, and 
wrongs righted. Under such freedom the people will "wobble 
right," as Lincoln said, for while "you may fool all the people 
some of the time and some of the people all the time you 
cannot fool all the people all the time." 

While Abraham Lincoln was yet a young man he held up 
this ideal of obedience to the law before his fellow-citizens: 

1 Mrs. Hemans, "The Pilgrim Fathers." 
^ Jefferson, First Inaugural Address. 



AMERICAN IDEALS IN GOVERNMENT 393 

"Let every American, every lover of liberty, every well- 
wisher to his posterity, swear by the blood of the Revolution 
never to violate in the least particular the laws of the country, 
and never to tolerate their violation by others. As the pa- 
triots of '76 died to support the Declaration of Independence, 
so to the support of the Constitution and the laws let every 
American pledge his life, his property, and his sacred honor; — 
let every man remember that to violate the law is to trample 
in the blood of his father and to tear the charter of his own 
and his children's liberty. Let reverence for the laws be 
breathed by every American mother to the lisping babes that 
prattle on her lap; let it be taught in schools, in seminaries, 
and in colleges; let it be written in primers, spelling books, 
and in almanacs; let it be preached from the pulpits, pro- 
claimed in legislative halls, and enforced in courts of justice. 
And in short, let it become the political religion of the nation, 
and let the old and the young, the rich and the poor, the grave 
and the gay of all sexes and tongues and colors and conditions, 
sacrifice unceasingly upon its altars." ^ This imposes on the 
State the duty of avoiding unjust and unrighteous laws.- 

An educated people is one of America's dearest ideals. Y: ^""^^"^^ 

^ ^ , Education 

"If a people expects to be ignorant and free in a state of 
civilization it expects what never was, and never can be," 
says Jefferson. Jefferson was the founder of the University 
of Virginia and he sought for the American democracy which 
he did so much to establish an education as universal as the 
liberty which he held to be the heritage of all men. He 
wished education and discussion to be free and information 
to be widely diffused. He thought a good newspaper was 
better than a standing army as a defense to the republic. 

^ Abraham Lincoln, Address, 1837, before the Young Men's Lyceum 
of Springfield, Illinois. 

2 The student will reflect on the right of men to resist unrighteous laws. 
"We should obey God rather than man." "Resistance to tyrants is 
obedience to God." Should our fathers have obeyed the Stamp Act or 
the Fugitive Slave Law? 



394 



THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 



This universal education is for the purpose of making more 
efficient citizens for a free state. All American communities 
gladly tax themselves for education. This is an ideal of the 
common people, as all parents desire an education for their 
children better than they had for themselves and they wish 
a social state in which the good and the competent may the 
better make their way up and the ignorant and foolish will 
inevitably drop down.^ Popular government must carry with 
it popular education. 

Jefferson in his Inaugural Address held up other ideals 
for American democracy: 

(i) Peace and honest friendship with all nations, entangling 
alliances with none. 

"a concert of powers for the sake of world-peace would 
not be an 'entangling alliance.' All would unite to act in 
the common interest and all be free to live their own lives 
under a common protection." ^ 

(2) Local self-government in all domestic concerns. 

(3) Free and fair elections by the people. 

This is the safest way to correct abuses. Government abuses 
will be "lopped off by the sword of revolution if peaceable 
means are unprovided." 

(4) The supremacy of the civil over the military authority. 
That is, the people must control the army and not the army 
the people. No large standing army but a well- disciplined 
militia, — our best reliance in peace and for the first moments 
of war. It is now believed that this militia should be national- 
ized and be brought under the control of the national govern- 
ment and not be left to forty-eight different State systems. 

(5) Honest payment of our debts and the sacred preser- 
vation of the public faith. 

"These principles form the bright constellation which has 
gone before us and guided our steps through an age of revo- 

1 President Eliot, New York Times, July 27, 1916. 

2 President Wilson, Jan. 22, 191 7. 



AMERICAN. IDEALS IN GOVERNMENT 



395 



lution and reformation. The wisdom of our sages and blood 
of our heroes have been devoted to their attainment; they 
should be the creed of our political faith, the text of civic 
instruction, the touchstone by which to try the services of those 
we trust; and should we wander from them in moments of 
error or of alarm, let us hasten to retrace our steps and to 
regain the road which alone leads to peace, liberty, and safety." ^ 

After independence and confederation, the Constitution was 
made "to form a more perfect union." Liberty and union 
were developed in America through trial and tribulation. 
They were ideals long before they were facts. A united 
nation was reached only "by the discipline of our virtues in 
the severe school of adversity." The nation hung over the 
precipice of disunion in civil war. But that great war decided 
that the ideal should be realized, "liberty and union," under 
one nation, one government, one flag. 

Lincoln desired that his Nation might bear its part among 
nations in promoting democracy, liberty, justice, and right- 
eous peace throughout the world, — the final ideal of the 
Citizen and the Republic. We should recall his noble ideal 
when he spoke for the peace of righteousness in his last in- 
augural address: 

"With malice, toward none; with charity for all; with 
firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us 
strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation's 
wounds; to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and 
for his widow and his orphan, and to do all which may achieve 
and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with 
all nations." ^ 



Vn. Union and 
Nationality 



Vm. The Ideal 
of World 
Peace 



"It may be permitted to us to be glad that we have an America's Pur- 

1 1 • • 1 1 • 1 r P°^® ^ *-^® 

opportunity to show the principles which we profess to be worid War 
living — principles which live in our hearts — and to have a 

^ Jefferson's First Inaugural Address. 
2 Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address. 



396 THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 

chance by the pouring out of our blood and treasure to vindi- 
cate the things which we have professed. For the real fruition 
of life is to do the things we have said we wished to do. There 
are times when words seem empty and only action seems 
great. Such a time has come, and in the providence of God 
America will once more have an opportunity to show to the 
world that she was born to serve mankind." ^ 

Such are the ideals of the Citizen and the Republic! 

TOPICS AND QUERIES 

1. How do ideals influence a nation's life? 

2. In what sense are all men "created equal"? 

3. Does the Government of the home or the school "derive its just 

powers from the consent of the governed"? 

4. What is involved in civil liberty? 

5. In what kind of religious freedom did the early colonists in America 

believe? 

6. Name some influences in American history that have promoted 

union and nationality. 

7. Repeat from memory Lincoln's Gettysburg address. 

8. Recite seven distinct ideals shown in the life and government of the 

American people. 

REFERENCES 

Abbott, Lyman. The Rights of Man, Chap. III. 

Adams, E. D. Ideals in American History. 

Fiske, John. American Political Ideas. 

Merriam, C. E. American Political Theories. 

Roosevelt, Theodore. American Ideals. 

Tufts, James H., Our Democracy. 

Woodburn, J. A. The American Republic and its Government, Chap. I. 

^ President Wilson, Memorial Day Address, May 30, 19 17. 



HOW TO OBTAIN INFORMATION 

In studying "Present Day Problems in Democracy" and 
other topics suggested in this volume the student should seek 
the aid of his public library. He should be able to find there 
the standard current periodicals, — The Outlook, The Inde- 
pendent, The Literary Digest, The Review of Reviews, Collier's, 
North American Review, The Yale Review, Atlantic Monthly, 
The Survey, Current Literature, and others. These will inform 
him on current topics. The library should also have ar 
Index to Periodical Literature which will direct the student 
to the magazines in which articles may be found on given 
topics. The student should be shown how to use this Index. 
The "American Year Book" and the " Business Digest" will 
give brief compact information on all kinds of current civic 
events and problems. Many of the larger libraries have small 
"Traveling Libraries" which they are willing to send out to 
responsible high schools, or clubs, upon request. The Exten- 
sion Departments of the Universities are also ready, in many 
States, to send books and references on various topics to 
inquirers. The following organizations are ready to furnish 
information along the lines in which they are especially 
interested: 

American Association for Labor Legislation, 131 East 23d St., New York 

City. _ 
The American City, 93 Nassau St., New York City. 
American Civic Association, 913 Union Trust Building, Washington, D. C. 
American Federation of Labor, 801-809 G St., N. W., Washington, D. C. 
American Highway Association, Colorado Building, Washington, D. C. 
American Home Economics Association, Station N., Baltimore, Md. 
American National Red Cross, 1624 H St., Washington, D. C. 
American Peace Society, 31 Beacon St., Boston, Mass. 

397 



398 THE CITIZEN AND THE REPUBLIC 

American Prison Association, Secretary Commissioner of Charities and 
Corrections, Trenton, N. J. 

American Public Health Association, 755 Boylston St., Boston, Mass. 

National American Woman Suffrage Association, 505 Fifth Ave., New- 
York City. 

National Association Opposed to Woman Suffrage, 37 W. 39th St., New 
York City. 

National Civil Service Reform League, 79 Wall St., New York City. 

National Conference of Charities and Correction, 315 Plymouth Court, 
Chicago, 111. 

National Conference on City Planning, 19 Congress St., Boston, Mass. 

National Conservation Congress, Riggs Building, Washington, D. C. 

National Educational Association, J. W. Crab tree, Thomas Circle, 
Washington, D. C. 

National Housing Association, 105 East 22d St., New York City. 

National Municipal League, North American Building, Philadelphia, Pa. 

National Security League, 19 West 44th St., New York City. 

National Short Ballot Organization, 383 Fourth Ave., New York City. 

National Tax Association, 15 Dey St., New York City. 

Pan-American Union, Washington, D. C. 

Playgrounds Association of America, i Madison Ave., New York City. 

Proportional Representation League, Secretary, Haverford, Pa. 

Single Tax Association, 150 Nassau St., New York City. 

The National Voters' League, Woodward Building, Washington, D. C. 

The National Popular Government League, Munsey Building, Wash- 
ington, D. C. 

The Congressional Record may be obtained for the high 
school Hbrary by writing to one of the United States senators 
or the member of Congress for the district. The Record 
contains the speeches and discussions in Congress. It is 
published daily while Congress is in session. 



APPENDIX 



ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION (1781). 

[The following is the official engrossed text as printed in Atnerican 
History Leaflets, No. 20, from the original parchment rolls.] 

0^0 all to llClbont these Presents shall come, we the under 
signed Delegates of the States affixed to our Names send greet- 
ing. Whereas the Delegates of the United States of America in 
Congress assembled did on the fifteenth day of November in the 
Year of Our Lord One thousand seven Hundred and Seventy 
seven, and in the second Year of the Independence of America 
agree to certain articles of Confederation and perpetual Union 
between the States of Newhampshire, Massachusetts-bay, Rhode- 
island and Providence Plantations, Connecticut, New York, New 
Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North-Caro- 
lina, South-Carolina, and Georgia in the Words following, viz. 
"Articles of Confederation and perpetual Union between 
the States of Newhampshire, Massachusetts-bay, Rhodeisland 
and Providence Plantations, Connecticut, New- York, New-Jersey, 
Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North-Carolina, 
South-Carolina and Georgia. 

Article I. The Stile of this confederacy shall be "The 
United States of America." 

Article II. Each state retains its sovereignty, freedom and 
independence, and every Power, Jurisdiction and right, which is 
not by this confederation expressly delegated to the United States, 
in Congress assembled. 

Article III. The said states hereby severally enter into a 
firm league of friendship with each other, for their common de- 
fence, the security of their Liberties, and their mutual and general 
welfare, binding themselves to assist each other, against all force 
offered to, or attacks made upon them, or any of them, on account 
of religion, sovereignty, trade, or any other pretence whatever. 



X APPENDIX OF DOCUMENTS 

Article IV. The better to secure and perpetuate mutual 
friendship and intercourse among the people of the different states 
in this union, the free inhabitants of each of these states, paupers, 
vagabonds, and fugitives from Justice excepted, shall be entitled 
to all privileges and immunities of free citizens in the several 
states; and the people of each state shall have free ingress and 
regress to and from any other state, and shall enjoy therein all the 
privileges of trade and commerce, subject to the same duties, im- 
positions and restrictions as the inhabitants thereof respectively, 
provided that such restriction shall not extend so far as to prevent 
the removal of property imported into any state, to any other state 
of which the Owner is an inhabitant ; provided also that no im- 
position, duties or restriction shall be laid by any state, on the 
property of the united states, or either of them. 

If any Person be guilty of, or charged with treason, felony, or 
other high misdemeanor in any state, shall iiee from Justice, 
and be found in any of the united states, he shall upon demand of 
the Governor or executive power, of the state from which he fled, 
be delivered up and removed to the state having jurisdiction of his 
offence. 

Full faith and credit shall be given in each of these states to 
the records, acts and judicial proceedings of the courts and mag- 
istrates of every other state. 

Article V. For the more convenient management of the gen- 
eral interest of the united states, delegates shall be annually ap- 
pointed in such manner as the legislature of each state shall direct, 
to meet in Congress on the first Monday in November, in every 
year, with a power reserved to each state, to recal its delegates, or 
any of them, at any time within the year, and to send others in their 
stead, for the remainder of the Year. 

No state shall be represented in Congress by less than two, nor 
by more than seven Members; and no person shall be capable of 
being a delegate for more than three years in any term of six 
years ; nor shall any person, being a delegate, be capable of hold- 
ing any office under the united states, for which he, or another for 
his benefit receives any salary, fees or emolument of any kind. 

Each state shall maintain its own delegates in a meeting of the 
states, and while they act as members of the committee of the 
states. 

In determining questions in the united states, in Congress as- 
sembled, each state shall have one vote. 



ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION xi 

Freedom of speech and debate in congress shall not be im- 
peached or questioned in any Court, or place out of Congress, and 
the members of Congress shall be protected in their persons from 
arrests and imprisonments, during the time of their going to and 
from, and attendance on congress, except for treason, felony, or 
breach of the peace. 

Article VI. No state without the Consent of the united states 
in congress assembled, shall send any embassy to, or receive any 
embassy from, or enter into any conference, agreement, alliance or 
treaty with any King prince or state ; nor shall any person holding 
any office of profit or trust under the united states, or any of them, 
accept of any present, emolument, office or title of any kind what- 
ever from any king, prince or foreign state ; nor shall the united 
states in congress assembled, or any of them, grant any title of 
nobility. 

No two or more states shall enter into any treaty, confederation 
or alliance whatever between them, without the consent of the united 
states in congress assembled, specifying accurately the purpose for 
which the same is to be entered into, and how long it shall continue. 

No state shall lay any imposts or duties, which may interfere 
with any stipulations in treaties, entered into by the united states 
in congress assembled, with any king, prince or state, in pursuance 
of any treaties already proposed by congress, to the courts of 
France and Spain. 

No vessels of war shall be kept up in time of peace by any state, 
except such number only, as shall be deemed necessary by the 
united states in congress assembled, for the defence of such state, 
or its trade ; nor shall any body of forces be kept up by any state, 
in time of peace, except such number only, as in the judgment of 
the united states, in congress assembled, shall be deemed requisite 
to garrison the forts necessary for the defence of sucn state ; but 
every state shall always keep up a well regulated and disciplined 
mihtia, sufficiently armed and accoutred, and shall provide and 
constantly have ready for use, in public stores, a due number of 
field pieces and tents, and a proper quantity of arms, ammunition 
and camp equipage. 

No state shall engage in any war without the consent of the 
united states in congress assembled, unless such state be actually 
invaded by enemies, or shall have received certain advice of a 
resolution being formed by some nation of Indians to invade such 
state, and the danger is so imminent as not to admit of a delay, 
till the united states in congress assembled can be consulted : nor 



xii APPENDIX^ OF DOCUMENTS 

shall any state grant commissions to any ships or vessels of war, 
nor letters of marque or reprisal, except it be after a declaration of 
war by the united states in congress assembled, and then only 
against the kingdom or state and the subjects thereof, against 
which war has been so declared, and under such regulations as 
shall be established by the united states in congress assembled, 
unless such state be infested by pirates, in which case vessels of 
war may be fitted out for that occasion, and kept so long as the 
danger shall continue, or until the united states in congress as- 
sembled shall determine otherwise. 

Article VII. When land-forces are raised by any state for 
the common defence, all officers of or under the rank of colonel, 
shall be appointed by the legislature of each state respectively by 
whom such forces shall be raised, or in such manner as such state 
shall direct, and all vacancies shall be filled up by the state which 
first made the appointment. 

Article VIII. All charges of war, and all other expences 
that shall be incurred for the common defence or general welfare, 
and allowed by the united states in congress assembled, shall be 
defrayed out of a common treasury, which shall be supplied by the 
several states, in proportion to the value of all land within each 
state, granted to or surveyed for any Person, as such land and the 
buildings and improvements thereon shall be estimated according 
to such mode as the united states in congress assembled, shall from 
time to time, direct and appoint. The taxes for paying that pro- 
portion shall be laid and levied by the authority and direction of the 
legislatures of the several states within the time agreed upon by the 
united states in congress assembled. 

Article IX. The united states in congress assembled, shall 
have the sole and exclusive right and power of determining on peace 
and war, except in the cases mentioned in the sixth article — of 
sending and receiving ambassadors — entering into treaties and 
alliances, provided that no treaty of commerce shall be made 
whereby the legislative power of the respective states shall be re- 
strained from imposing such imposts and duties on foreigners, as 
their own people are subjected to, or from prohibiting the exportation 
or importation of any species of goods or commodities whatsoever 
— of establishing rules for deciding in all cases, what captures on 
land or water shall be legal, and in what manner prizes taken by 
land or naval forces in the service of the united states shall be di- 



ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION xiii 

vided or appropriated — of granting letters of marque and reprisal 
in times of peace — appointing courts for the trial of piracies and 
felonies committed on the high seas and establishing courts for re- 
ceiving and determining finally appeals in all cases of captures, pro- 
vided that no member of congress shall be appointed a judge of any 
of the said courts. 

The united states in congress assembled shall also be the last 
resort on appeal in all disputes and differences now subsisting or 
that hereafter may arise between two or more states concerning 
boundary, jurisdiction or any other cause whatever; which author- 
ity shall always be exercised in the manner following. Whenever 
the legislative or executive authority or lawful agent of any state in 
controversy with another shall present a petition to congress, stat- 
ing the matter in question and praying for a hearing, notice thereof 
shall be given by order of congress to the legislative or executive 
authority of the other state in controversy, and a day assigned for 
the appearance of the parties by their lawful agents, who shall then 
be directed to appoint by joint consent, commissioners or judges to 
constitute a court for hearing and determining the matter in ques- 
tion : but if they cannot agree, congress shall name three persons 
out of each of the united states, and from the Hst of such persons 
each party shall alternately strike out one, the petitioners begin- 
ning, until the number shall be reduced to thirteen ; and from that 
number not less than seven, nor more than nine names as congress 
shall direct, shall in the presence of congress be drawn out by lot, 
and the persons whose names shall be so drawn or any five of them, 
shall be commissioners or judges, to hear and finally determine the 
controversy, so always as a major part of the judges who shall hear 
the cause shall agree in the determination : and if either party shall 
neglect to attend at the day appointed, without shewing reasons, 
which congress shall judge sufficient, or being present shall refuse 
to strike, the congress shall proceed to nominate three persons out 
of each state, and the secretary of congress shall strike in behalf of 
such party absent or refusing ; and the judgment and sentence of 
the court to be appointed, in the manner before prescribed, shall 
be final and conclusive ; and if any of the parties shall refuse to 
submit to the authority of such court, or to appear or defend their 
claim or cause, the court shall nevertheless proceed to pronounce 
sentence, or judgment, which shall in like manner be final and deci- 
sive, the judgment or sentence and other proceedings being in either 
case transmitted to congress, and lodged among the acts of con- 
gress for the security of the parties concerned : provided that every 
commissioner, before he sits in judgment, shall take an oath to be 



XIV APPENDIX OF DOCUMENTS 

administered by one of the judges of the supreme or superior court 
of the state, where the cause shall be tried, " well and truly to hear 
and determine the matter in question, according to ihe best of his 
judgment, without favour, affection or hope of reward:" provided 
also that no state shall be deprived of territory for the benefit of the 
united states. 

All controversies concerning the private right of soil claimed 
under different grants of two or more states, whose jurisdictions as 
they may respect such lands, and the states which passed such 
grants are adjusted, the said grants or either of them being at the 
same time claimed to have originated antecedent to such settlement 
of jurisdiction, shall on the petition of either party to the congress 
of the united states, be finally determined as near asmaybe in the 
same manner as is before prescribed for deciding disputes respect- 
ing territorial jurisdiction between different states. 

The united states in congress assembled shall also have the sole 
and exclusive right and power of regulating the alloy and value of 
coin struck by their own authority, or by that of the respective 
states — fixing the standard of weights and nieasures throughout 
the United States — regulating the trade and manageing all affairs 
with the Indians, not members of any of the states, provided that 
the legislative right of any state within its own limits be not in- 
fringed or violated — establishing and regulating post-offices from 
one state to another, throughout all the united states, and exacting 
such postage on the papers passing thro' the same as may be requi- 
site to defray the expences of the said office — appointing all officers 
of the land forces, in the service of the united states, excepting regi- 
mental officers — appointing all the officers of the naval forces, and 
commissioning all officers whatever in the service of the united 
states — making rules for the government and regulation of the said 
land and naval forces, and directing their operations. 

The united states in congress assembled shall have authority to 
appoint a committee, to sit in the recess of congress, to be denom- 
inated " A Committee of the States," and to consist of one delegate 
from each state ; and to appoint such other committees and civil 
officers as may be necessary for manageing the general affairs 
of the united states under their direction — to appoint one of their 
number to preside, provided that no person be allowed to serve in 
the office of president more than one year in any term of three 
years ; to ascertain the necessary sums of Money to be raised for 
the service of the united states, and to appropriate and apply the 
same for defraying the public expences — to borrow money, or emit 
bills on the credit of the united states, transmitting every half year 



ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION xv 

to the respective states an account of the sums of money so bor- 
rowed or emitted, — to build and equip a navy — to agree upon the 
number of land forces, and to make requisitions from each state for 
its quota, in proportion to the number of white inhabitants in such 
state; which requisition shall be binding, and thereupon the legis- 
lature of each state shall appoint the regimental officers, raise the 
men and cloath, arm and equip them in a soldier like manner, at the 
expence of the united states; and the officers and men so cloathed, 
armed and equipped shall march to the place appointed, and witliin 
the time agreed on by the united states in congress assembled : But 
if the united states in congress assembled shall, on consideration of 
circumstances judge proper that any state should not raise men, or 
should raise a smaller number than its quota, and that any other 
state should raise a greater number of men than the quota thereof, 
such extra number shall be raised, officered, cloathed, armed and 
equipped in the same manner as the quota of such state, unless the 
legislature of such state shall judge that such extra number cannot 
be safely spared out of the same, in which case they shall raise 
officer, cloath, arm and equip as many of such extra number as they 
judge can be safely spared. And the officers and men so cloathed, 
armed and equipped, shall march to the place appointed, and within 
the time agreed on by the united states in congress assembled. 

The united states in congress assembled shall never engage in a 
war, nor grant letters of marque and reprisal in time of j^eace, nor 
enter into any treaties or alliances, nor coin money, nor regulate 
the value thereof, nor ascertain the sums and expences necessary 
for the defence and welfare of the united states, or any of them, nor 
emit bills, nor borrow money on the credit of the united states, nor 
appropriate money, nor agree upon the number of vessels of war, 
to be built or purchased, or the number of land or sea forces to be 
raised, nor appoint a commander in chief of the army or navy, un- 
less nine states assent to the same: nor shall a question on any 
other point, except for adjourning from day to day be determined, 
unless by the votes of a majority of the united states in congress 
assembled. 

The congress of the united states shall have power to adjourn to 
any time within the year, and to any place within the united states, 
so that no period of adjournment be for a longer duration than the 
space of six months, and shall publish the Journal of their proceed- 
ings monthly, except such parts thereof relating to treaties, alliances 
or military operations, as in their judgment require secrecy ; and 
the yeas and nays of the delegates of each state on any question 
shall be entered on the Journal, when it is desired by any delegate ; 



xvi APPENDIX OF DOCUMENTS 

and the delegates of a state, or any of them, at his or their request 
shall be furnished with a transcript of the said Journal, except such 
parts as are above excepted, to lay before the legislatures of the 
several states. 

Article X. The committee of the states, or any nine of them, 
shall be authorized to execute, in the recess of congress, sucli of the 
powers of congress as the united states in congress assembled, by 
the consent of nine states, shall from time to time think expedient 
to vest them with ; provided that no power be delegated to the said 
committee, for the exercise of which, by the articles of confedera- 
tion, the voice of nine states m the congress of the united states 
assembled is requisite. 

Article XI. Canada acceding to this confederation, and join- 
ing in the measures of the united states, shall be admitted into, and 
entitled to all the advantages of this union : but no other colony 
shall be admitted into the same, unless such admission be agreed 
to by nine states. 

Article XII. All bills of credit emitted, monies borrowed 
and debts contracted by, or under the authority of congress, before 
the assembling of the united states, in pursuance of the present 
confederation, shall be deemed and considered as a charge against 
the united states, for payment and satisfaction whereof the said 
united states, and the public faith are hereby solemnly pledged. 

Article XIII. Every state shall abide by the determinations 
of the united states in congress assembled, on all questions which 
by this confederation are submitted to them. And the Articles of 
this confederation sliall be inviolably observed by every state, and 
the union shall be perpetual; nor shall any alteration at any time 
hereafter be made in any of them ; unless such alteration be agreed 
to in a congress of the united states, and be afterwards confirmed 
by the legislatures of every state. 

!En& IKHbereas it hath pleased the Great Governor of the 
World to incline the hearts of the legislatures we respectively rep- 
resent in congress, to approve of, and to authorize us to ratify the 
said articles of confederation and perpetual union. finOW ^C that 
we the undersigned delegates, by virtue of the power and authorit)? 
to us given for that purpose, do by these presents, in the name and 
in behalf of our respective constituents, fully and entirely ratify 



ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION xvii 

and confirm each and every of the said articles of confederation 
and perpetual union, and all and singular the matters and things 
therein contained : And we do further solemnly plight and engage 
the faith of our respective constituents, that they shall abide by the 
determinations of the united states in congress assembled, on all 
questions, which by the said confederation are submitted to them. 
And that the articles thereof shall be inviolably observed by the 
states we respectively represent, and that the union shall be per- 
petual. In witness whereof we have hereunto set our hands in 
Congress. Done at Philadelphia in the state of Pennsylvania the 
ninth Day of July in the Year of our Lord one Thousand seven 
Hundred and Seventy eight, and in the third year of the independ- 
ence of America. 

[Signatures.] 



CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES 
OF AMERICA* (1789)!. 

[The following text of the Federal Constitution, including the Amend- 
ments thereto, is reprinted with the accompanying note from American 
History Leaflets, No. 8, in preparing which the original parchment rolls 
were compared.] 

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more 
perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, 
provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, 
and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Pos- 
terity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United 
States of America. 

ARTICLE. L 

Section, i. All legislative Powers herein granted shall be 
vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a 
Senate and House of Representatives. 

Section. 2. [§ i.] The House of Representatives shall be 
composed of Members chosen every second Year by the People of 
the several States, and the Electors in each State shall have the 
Qualifications requisite for Electors of the most numerous Branch 
of the State Legislature. J 

[§ 2.] No Person shall be a Representative who shall not have 
attained to the Age of twenty five Years, and been seven Years a 
Citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be 
an Inhabitant of that State in which he shall be chosen. 

[§ 3.] Representatives and direct Taxes shall be apportioned 
among the several States which maybe included within this Union, 
according to their respective Numbers, [which shall be determined 

* There is no title in the original manuscript. 

t The ninth state ratified June, 21, 1788. The government provided 
for went into operation March 4, 1789. 
% Modified by Fourteenth Amendment. 



THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES xix 

by adding to the whole Number of free Persons,] including those 
bound to Service for a Term of Years, and excluding Indians not 
taxed, [three fifths of all other Persons].* The actual Enumera- 
tion shall be made within three Years after the first Meeting of the 
Congress of the United States, and within every subsequent Term 
of ten Years, in such Manner as they shall by Law direct. The 
Number of Representatives shall not exceed one for every thirty 
Thousand, but each State shall have at Least one Representative; 
[and until such enumeration shall be made, the State of New 
Hampshire shall be entitled to chuse three, Massachusetts eight, 
Rhode-Island and Providence Plantations one, Connecticut five, 
New- York six, New Jersey four, Pennsylvania eight, Delaware 
one, Maryland six, Virginia ten, North Carolina five, South 
Carolina five, and Georgia three.] f 

[§ 4.] When vacancies happen in the Representation from any 
State, the Executive Authority thereof shall issue Writs of Election 
to fill such Vacancies. 

[§ 5.] The House of Representatives shall chuse their Speaker 
and other Officers ; and shall have the sole Power of Impeachment. 

Section. 3. [ § i-] The Senate of the United States shall be 
composed of two Senators from each State, chosen by the Legisla- 
ture thereof, for six Years ; and each Senator shall have one Vote. 

[§ 2.] Immediately after they shall be assembled in Consequence 
of the first Election, they shall be divided as equally as may be 
into three Classes. The Seats of the Senators of the first Class 
shall be vacated at the Expiration of the second Year, of the 
second Class at the Expiration of the fourth Year, and of the third 
Class at the Expiration of the sixth Year, so that one third may be 
chosen every second Year ; and if Vacancies happen by Resig- 
nation, or otherwise, during the Recess of the Legislature of any 
State, the Executive thereof may make temporary Appointments 
until the next Meeting of the Legislature, which shall then fill such 
Vacancies. 

[§ 3-] No Person shall be a Senator who shall not have attained 
to the Age of thirty Years, and been nine Years a Citizen of the 
United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an Inhabitant 
of that State for which he shall be chosen. 

[§ 4.] The Vice President of the United States shall be Presi- 
dent of the Senate, but shall have no Vote, unless they be equally 
divided. 

* Superseded by Fourteenth Amendment. 
t Temporary clause. 



XX APPENDIX OF DOCUMENTS 

[§ 5-] The Senate shall chuse their other Officers, and also a 
President pro tempore, in the Absence of the Vice President, or 
when he shall exercise the Office of President of the United 
States. 

[§ 6.] The Senate shall have the sole Power to try all Impeach- 
ments. When sitting for that Purpose, they shall be on Oath or 
Affirmation. When the President of the United States is tried, 
the Chief Justice shall preside : And no Person shall be convicied 
without the Concurrence of two thirds of the Members- present. 

[§ 7.] Judgment in Cases of Impeachment shall not extend 
further than to removal from Office, and disqualification to hold 
and enjoy any Office of honor, Trust or Profit under the United 
States: but the Party convicted shall nevertheless be liable and 
subject to Indictment, Trial, Judgment and Punishment, according 
to Law. 

Section. 4. [§ i.] The Times, Places and Manner of holding 
Elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in 
each State by the Legislature thereof; but the Congress may at 
any time by Law make or alter such Regulations, except as to the 
Places of chusing Senators. 

[§ 2.] The Congress shall assemble at least once in every Year, 
and such Meeting shall be on the first Monday in December, 
unless they shall by Law appoint a different Day. 

Section. 5. [§ i.] Each House shall be the Judge of the Elec- 
tions, Returns and Qualifications of its own Members, and a 
Majority of each shall constitute a Quorum to do Business ; but a 
smaller Number may adjourn from day to day, and may be autho- 
rized to compel the attendance of absent Members, in such Manner, 
and under such Penalties as each House may provide. 

[§ 2.] Each House may determine the Rules of its Proceedings, 
punish its Members for Disorderly Behaviour, and, with the Con- 
currence of two thirds, expel a Member. 

[§ 3.] Each House shall keep a Journal of its Proceedings, and 
from time to time publish the same, excepting such Parts as may 
in their Judgment require Secrecy ; and the Yeas and Nays of the 
Members of either House on any question sliall, at the Desire of 
one fifth of those Present, be entered on the Journal. 

[§ 4.] Neither House, during the Session of Congress, shall, 
without the Consent of the other, adjourn for more than three 
days, nor to any other Place than that in which the two Houses 
shall be sitting. 

Section. 6. [§ i.] The Senators and Representatives shall re- 
ceive a Compensation for their Services, to be ascertained by Law, 



THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES xxi 

and paid out of the Treasury of the United States. They shall in 
all Cases, except Treason, Felony and Breach of the Peace, be 
privileged from Arrest during their Attendance at the Session of 
their respective Houses, and in going to and returning from the 
same ; and for any Speech or Debate in either House, they shall 
not be questioned in any other Place. 

[§ 2.] No Senator or Representative shall, during the Time for 
which he was elected, be appointed to any civil Office under the 
Authority of the United States, which shall have been created, or 
the Emoluments whereof shall have been encreased during such 
time ; and no Person holding any Office under the United States, 
shall be a Member of either House during his Continuance in 
Office. 

Section. 7. [§ i.] All Bills for raising Revenue shall originate 
in the House of Representatives ; but the Senate may propose or 
concur with Amendments as on other Bills. 

[§ 2.] Every Bill which shall have passed the House of Repre- 
sentatives and the Senate, shall, before it become a Law, be pre- 
sented to the President of the United States: If he approve he 
shall sign it, but if not he shall return it, with his Objections to 
that House in which it shall have originated, who shall enter the 
Objections at large on their Journal, and proceed to reconsider it. 
If after such Reconsideration two thirds of that House shall agree 
to pass the Bill, it shall be sent, together with the Objections, to 
the other House, by which it shall likewise be reconsidered, and 
if approved by two thirds of that House, it shall become a Law. 
But in all such Cases the Votes of both Houses shall be determined 
by yeas and Nays, and the Names of the Persons voting for and 
against the Bill shall be entered on the Journal of each House 
respectively. If any Bill shall not be returned by the President 
within ten Days (Sundays excepted) after it shall have been pre- 
sented to him, the same shall be a Law, in like Manner as if he had 
signed it, unless the Congress by their Adjournment prevent its 
Return, in which Case it shall not be a Law. 

[§ 3.] Every Order, Resolution, or Vote to which the Concur- 
rence of the Senate and House of Representatives may be neces- 
sary (except on a question of Adjournment) shall be presented to 
the President of the United States ; and before the same shall take 
Effect, shall be approved by him, or being disapproved by him, 
shall be repassed by two thirds of the Senate and House of Repre- 
sentatives,- according to the Rules and Limitations prescribed in 
the Case of a Bill. 

Section. 8. The Congress shall have Power [ §1.] To lay and 



xxii APPENDIX OF DOCUMENTS 

collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and 
provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the 
United States ; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be 
uniform throughout the United States ; 

[§ 2.] To borrow Money on the credit of the United States; 

[§ 3-] To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among 
the several States, and with the Indian Tribes ; 

[§ 4 ] To establish an uniform Rule of Naturalization, and 
uniform Laws on the subject of Bankruptcies throughout the 
United States ; 

[§ 5.] To coin Money, regulate the Value thereof, and of foreign 
Coin, and fix the Standard of Weights and Measures ; 

[§ 6.] To provide for the Punishment of counterfeiting the Securi- 
ties and current coin of the United States; 

[§ 7 ] To establish Post Offices and post Roads ; 

[§ 8.] To promote the Progress of Science and us:ful Arts, by 
securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive 
Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries ; 

[§ 9.] To constitute Tribunals inferior to the supreme Court; 

[§ 10.] To define and Punish Piracies and Felonies committed 
on the high Seas, and Offences against the Law of Nations ; 

[§ II.] To declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, 
and make Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water ; 

[§ 12.] To raise and support Armies, but no Appropriation of 
Money to that Use shall be for a longer Term than two Years ; 

[§ 13.] To provide and maintain a Navy ; 

[§ 14.] To make Rules for the Government and Regulation of 
the land and naval Forces ; 

[§ 15.] To provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the 
Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions; 

[§ 16.] To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining, the 
Militia, and for governing such Part of them as may be employed 
in the Service of the United States, reserving to the States respec- 
tively, the Appointment of the Officers, and the Authority of train- 
ing the Militia according to the discipline prescribed by Congress ; 

[§ 17.] To exercise exclusive Legislation in all Cases whatso- 
ever, over such District (not exceeding ten Miles square) as may, 
by Cession of particular States, and the Acceptance of Congress, 
become the Seat of the Government of the United States, and to 
exercise like Authority over all Places purchased by the Consent 
of the Legislature of the State in which the same shall be, for the 
Erection of Forts, Magazines, Arsenals, dock-Yards, and other 
needful Buildings; — And 



THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES xxiii 

[§ 1 8.] To make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper 
for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers, and all other 
Powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the 
United States, or in any Department or Officer thereof. 

SiXTiON 9. [§ I.] [The Migration or Importation of such Per- 

' s as any of the States now existing shall think proper to admit, 
II not be prohibited by the Congress prior to the Year one 

.0 isand eight hundred and eight, but a Tax or duty may be im- 
pos d on such Importation, not exceeding ten dollars for each 
Person.]* 

[§ 2 ] The Privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be 
suspended, unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the pub- 
lic Safety may require it. 

[§ 3-] No Bill of Attainder or ex post facto Law shall be passed.-j- 

[§ 4.] No Capitation, or other direct, Tax shall be laid, unless 
in Proportion to the Census or Enumeration herein before directed 
to be taken. 

[§ 5.] No Tax or Duty shall be laid on Articles exported from 
.any State. 

[§ 6 ] No Preference shall be given by any Regulation of Com- 
merce or Revenue to the Ports of one State over those of another : 
nor Ghall Vessels bound to, or from, one State, be obliged to enter, 
clear, or pay Duties in another. 

■ [§ 7-] J^o Money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in 
Consequence of Appropriations made by Law ; and a regular 
Statement and Account of the Receipts and Expenditures of all 
public Money shall be published from time to time. 

[§ 8.] No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States : 
And no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, 
shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present. 
Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, 
Prince, or foreign State.J 

Section id. [§ i.] No State shall enter into any Treaty, Alli- 
ance, or Confederation; grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal; 
coin Money; emit Bills of Credit; make any Thing but gold and 
silver Coin a Tender in Payment of Debts ; pass any Bill of At- 
tainder, ex post facto Law, or Law impairing the Obligation of 
Contracts, or grant any Title of Nobility. 

[§ 2.] No State shall, without the Consent of the Congress, lay 

* Temporary provision. 

t Extended by the first eight Amendments. 

I Extended by Ninth and Tenth Amendment?. 



xxiv APPENDIX OF DOCUMENTS 

any Imposts or Duties on Imports or Exports, except what may 
be absolutely necessary for executing its inspection Laws : and the 
net Produce of all Duties and Imposts, laid by any State on Im- 
ports or Exports, shall be for the Use of the Treasury of the United 
States ; and all such Laws shall be subject to the Revision and 
Controul of the Congress. 

[§ 3-] No State shall, without the Consent of Congress, lay any 
Duty of Tonnage, keep Troops, or Ships of War in time of Peace, 
enter into any Agreement or Compact with another State, or with 
a foreign Power, or engage in War, unless actually invaded, or in 
such imminent Danger as will not admit of delay.* 

ARTICLE. 11. 

Section, i. [§ i.] The executive Power shall be vested in a 
President of the United States of America. He shall hold his 
Office during the Term of four Years, and, together with the Vice 
President, chosen for the same Term, be elected, as follows 

[§ 2.] Each State shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legis- 
lature thereof may direct, a Number of Electors, equal to the 
whole Number of Senators and Representatives to which the State 
may be entitled in the Congress : but no Senator or Representative, 
or Person holding an Office of Trust or Profit under the United 
States, shall be appointed an Elector. 

[The Electors shall meet in their respective States, and vote by 
Ballot for two Persons, of whom one at least shall not be an In- 
habitant of the same State with themselves. And they shall make 
a List of all the Persons voted for, and of the Number of Votes 
for each; which List they shall sign and certify, and transmit 
sealed to the Seat of the Government of the United States, 
directed to the President of the Senate. The President of the 
Senate shall, in the Presence of the Senate and House of Repre- 
sentatives, open all the Certificates, and the Votes shall then be 
counted. The Person having the greatest Number of Votes shall 
be the President, if such Number be a Majority of the whole Num- 
ber of Electors appointed ; and if there be more than one who have 
such Majority, and have an equal Number of Votes, then the 
House of Representatives shall immediately chuse by Ballot one 
of them for President; and if no Person have a Majority, then 
from the five highest on the List the said House shall in like Man- 
ner chuse the President. But in chusing the President, the Votes 
shall be taken by States, the Representation from each State hav- 

* Extended by Thirteenth, Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments. 



THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES xxv 

ing one Vote ; A quorum for this Purpose shall consist of a Mem- 
ber or Members from two thirds of the States, and a Majority of 
all the States shall be necessary to a Choice. In every Case, after 
the Choice of the President, the Person having the greatest Num- 
ber of Votes of the Electors shall be the Vice President. But if 
there should remain two or more who have equal Votes, the Senate 
shall chuse from them by Ballot the Vice President] * 

[§ 3.] The Congress may determine the Time of chusing the 
Electors, and the I)ay on which they shall give their Votes; which 
Day shall be the same throughout the United States. 

[§ 4.] No Person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of 
the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, 
shall be ehgible to the Office of President; neither shall any Person 
be eligible tp that Office who shall not have attained to the Age of 
thirty five Years, and been fourteen Years a Resident within the 
United States. 

[§ 5.] In Case of the Removal of the President from Office, or 
of his Death, Resignation, or Inability to discharge the Powers 
and Duties of the said Office, the Same shall devolve on the Vice 
President, and the Congress may by Law provide for the Case of 
Removal, Death, Resignation, or Inability, both of the President 
and Vice President, declaring what Officer shall then act as Presi- 
dent, and such Officer shall act accordingly, until the Disability be 
removed, or a President shall be elected. 

[§ 6.] The President shall, at stated Times, receive for his Ser- 
vices, a Compensation, which shall neither be encreased nor dimin- 
ished during the Period for which he shall have been elected, and 
he shall not receive within that Period any other Emolument from 
the United States, or any of them. 

[§ 7.] Before he enter on the Execution of his Office, he shall 
take the following Oath or Affirmation : — 

" I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute 
the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best 
of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of 
the United States." 

Section. 2. [§ i.] The President shall be Commander in Chief 
of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of 
the several States, when called into the actual Service of the United 
States; he may require the Opinion, in writing, of the principal 
Officer in each of the executive Departments, upon any Subject 
relating to the Duties of their respective Offices, and he shall 

* Superseded by Twelfth Amendment. 



XXVI APPENDIX OF DOCUMENTS 

have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offences against 
the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment. 

[§ 2.] He shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Con- 
sent of the Senate, to make Treaties, provided two thirds of the 
Senators present concur; and he shall nominate, and by and with 
the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint Ambassadors, 
other public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the supreme Court 
and all other Officers of the United States, whose Appointments 
are not herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be estab- 
lishea by Law : but the Congress may by Law vest the Appoint- 
ment of such inferior Officers, as they think proper, in the President 
alone, in the Courts of Law, or in the Heads of Departments. 

[§ 3.] The President shall have Power to fill up all Vacancies 
that may happen during the Recess of the Senate, by granting 
Commissions which shall expire at the End of their next Session. 

Section. 3. He shall from time to time. give to the Congress 
Information of the State of the Union, and recommend to their 
Consideration such Measures as he shall judge necessary and 
expedient; he may, on extraordinary Occasions, convene both 
Houses, or either of thein, and in Case of Disagreement between 
them, with Respect to the Time of Adjournment, he may adjourn 
them to such Time as he shall think proper ; he shall receive Am- 
bassadors and other public Ministers; he shall take Care that the 
Laws be faithfully executed, and shall Commission all the Officers 
of the United States. 

Section. 4. The President, Vice President and all civil Officers 
of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeach- 
ment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high 
Crimes and Misdemeanors. 

ARTICLE III. 

Section, i. The judicial Power of the United States, shall be 
vested in one supreme Court, and in such inferior Courts as the 
Congress may from time to time ordain and establish. The Judges, 
both of the supreme and inferior Courts, shall hold their Offices 
during good Behaviour, and shall, at stated Times, receive for 
their Services, a Compensation, which shall not be diminished 
during their Continuance in Office. 

Section. 2. [§ i.J The judicial Power shall extend to all Cases, 
in Law and Equity, arising under this Constitution, the Laws of 
the United States, and Treaties made, or which shall be made, 
under their Authority; — to all Cases affecting Ambassadors, other 



THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES xxvii 

public Ministers and Consuls ; — to all Cases of admiralty and mari- 
time Jurisdiction ; — to Controversies to which the United States 
■^-liall be a Party; — to Controversies between two or more States ; 
— bjtween a State and Citizens of another State;* — between 
Citizens of different States, — between Citizens of the same State 
claiming Lands under Grants of different States, and between a 
State, or the Citizens thereof, and foreign States, Citizens or 
Subjects. 

[§ 2.] In all Cases affecting Ambassadors, other public Minis- 
ters and Consuls, and those in which a State shall be Party, the 
supreme Court shall have original Jurisdiction. In all the other 
C ises before mentioned, the supreme Court shall have appellate 
'='iiction, both as to Law and Fact, with such Exceptions, and 
I such R gulatio "IS as the Congress shall make. 

, 3 3.] Thj Trial of all Crimes, except in Cases of Impeachment, 
,^h ill be by Jury; and such Trial shall be held in the State where 
t le said Crimes shall have been committed ; but when not com- 
mitted within any State, the Trial shall be at such Place or Places 
as the Congress may by Law have directed. 

Section. 3. [f i.J Treason against the United States shall con- 
sist only in levying War against them, or in adliering to their 
Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort. No Person shall be con- 
victed of Treason unless on the Testimony of two Witnesses to the 
same overt Act, or on Conf ssion in open Court. 

[§ 2.] The Congress shall have Power to declare the Punish- 
ment of Treason, but no Attainder of Treason shall work Corrup- 
tion of Blood, or Forfeiture except during the Life of the Person 
attainted. 



ARTICLE. IV. 

Section, i. Full Faith and Credit shall be given in each State 
to the public Acts, Records, and judicial Proceedings of every other 
State. And the Congress may by general Laws prescribe the 
Manner in which such Acts, Records and Proceedings shall be 
proved, and the Effect thereof. 

Section. 2. [§ i.] The Citizens of each State shall be entitled 
to all Privileges and Immunities of Citizens in the several States, f 

[§ 2.] A Person charged in any State with Treason, Felony, or 
other Crime, who shall flee from Justice, and be found in another 

* Limited by Eleventh Amendment, 
t Extended by Fourteenth Amendment 



XXVIII APPENDIX OF DOCUMENTS 

State, shall on Demand of the executive Authority of the State 
from which he fled, be dehvered up, to be removed to the State 
having Jurisdiction of the Crime, 

[§ 3-] [No Person held to Service or Labour in one State, under 
the Laws thereof, escaping into another, shall, in Consequence of 
any Law or Regulation therein, be discharged from such Service 
or Labour, but shall be delivered up on Claim of the Party to whom 
such Service or Labour may be due.] * 

Section. 3. [§ i.] New States may be admitted by the Con- 
gress into this Union ; but no new State shall be formed or erected 
within the Jurisdiction of any other State ; nor any State be formed 
by the Junction of two or more States, or Parts of States, without 
the Consent of the Legislatures of the States concerned as well as 
of the Congress. 

[§ 2.] The Congress shall have Power to dispose of and make 
all needful Rules and Regulations respecting the Territory or 
other Property belonging to the United States; and nothing in 
this Constitution shall be so construed as to Prejudice any Claims 
of the United States, or of any particular State. 

Section. 4. The United States shall guarantee to every State 
in this Union a Republican Form of Government, and shall pro- 
tect each of them against Invasion ; and on Application of the 
Legislature, or of the Executive (when the Legislature cannot be 
convened) against domestic Violence. 

ARTICLE. V. 

The Congress, whenever two thirds of both Houses shall deem 
it necessary, shall propose Amendments to this Constitution, or, 
on the Application of the Legislatures of two thirds of the several 
States, shall call a Convention for proposing Amendments, which, 
in either Case, shall be valid to all Intents and Purposes, as Part of 
this Constitution, when ratified by the Legislatures of three fourths 
of the several States, or by Conventions in three fourths thereof, 
as the one or the other Mode of Ratification may be proposed by 
the Congress ; Provided [that no Amendment which may be made 
prior to the Year One thousand eight hundred and eight shall in 
any Manner affect the first and fourth Clauses in the Ninth 
Section of the first Article; andjf that no State, without its Con- 
sent, shall be deprived of its equal Suffrage in the Senate. 

* Limited by Thirteenth Amendment. 
t Temporary provision. 



THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES xxix 

ARTICLE. VI. 

[§ I.] All Debts contracted and Engagements entered into, 
before the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be as valid 
against the United States under this Constitution, as under the 
Confederation. * 

[§ 2 ] This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States 
which shall be made in Pursuance thereof ; and all Treaties made 
or which shall be made, under the Authority of the United States 
shall be the supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges in every 
State shall be bound thereby, any Thing in the Constitution or 
Laws of any State to the Contrary notwithstanding. 

[§ 3.] The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and 
the Members of the several State Legislatures, and all executive 
and judicial Officers, both of the United States and of the several 
States, shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to support this 
Constitution ; but no religious Test shall ever be required as a 
Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United 
States. 

ARTICLE. VII. 

The Ratification of the Conventions of nine States, shall be 
sufficient for the Establishment of this Constitution between the 
States so ratifying the Same. 

Done in Convention by the Unanimous Consent 

of the States present the Seventeenth Day of Sep- 

[Note of the draughtsman tember in tlie Year of our Lord one thousand seven 

as to interlineations in the hundred and Eighty seven and of the Independance 

text of the manuscript.] of the United States of America the Twelfth In 

Attest Witness whereof We have hereunto subscribed our 

William Jackson names, t 

Secretary. Go WASHINGTON — 

Presidt a?id deputy from Virginia. 

[Signatures.] 

AMENDMENTS. 

ARTICLES in addition to and Amendment of the Constitution 
of the United States of America, proposed by Congress, and rati- 
fied by the Legislatures of the several States, pursuant to the fifth 
Article of the original Constitution. J 

* Extended by Fourteenth Amendment, Section 4. 
t These signatures have no other legal force than that of attestation. 
\ This heading appears only in the joint resolution submitting the 
first ten amendments. 



XXX APPENDIX OF DOCUMENTS 

[ARTICLE I.]* 

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of 
religion', or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the 
freedom of speech, or of the press ; or the right of the people 
peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a 
■redress of grievances. 

[ARTICLE II.] 

A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a 
free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not 
be infringed. 

[ARTICLE III.] 

No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, 
without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a 
manner to be prescribed by law. 

[ARTICLE IV.] 

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, 
papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, 
shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon prob- 
able cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly de- 
scribing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be 
seized. 

[ARTICLE v.] 

No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise in- 
famous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand 
Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the 
Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; 
nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put 
in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal 
case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, 
or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property 
be taken for public use, without just compensation. 

[ARTICLE VI.] 

In all criminal prosecutions the accused shall enjoy the right to 
a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and dis- 

* In the original manuscripts the first twelve amendments have no 
numbers 



THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES xxxi 

trict wherein the crime sliall have been committed, which district 
shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed 
of the nature' and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with 
the witnesses against him ; to have compulsory process for obtain- 
ing witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel 
for his defence. 

[ARTICLE VII.] 

In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall ex- 
ceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, 
and no fact tried by a jury shall be otherwise re-examined in any 
Court of the United States, than according to the rules of the 
common law. 

[ARTICLE VIIL] 

Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, 
nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted. 

[ARTICLE IX.] 

The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not 
be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people. 

[ARTICLE X.] 

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitu- 
tion, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States 
respectively or to the people.* 

[ARTICLE XL] 

The Judicial power of the United States shall not be construed 
to extend to any suit in law or equity, commenced or prosecuted 
against one of the United States by Citizens of another State, or 
by Citizens or Subjects of any Foreign State.f 

[ARTICLE XII.] 

The Electors shall meet in their respective states, and vote by 
ballot for President and Vice-President, one of whom, at least, shall 
not be an inhabitant of the same state with themselves ; they shall 
name in their ballots the person voted for as President, and in dis- 

* Amendments First to Tenth appear to have been in force from 
Nov. 3, 1 791. 

t Proclaimed to be in force Jan. 8, 179S. 



XXXII APPENDIX OF DOCUMENTS 

tinct ballots the person voted for as Vice-President, and they shall 
make distinct lists of all persons voted for as President, and of all 
persons voted for as Vice-President, and of the number of votes for 
each, which lists they shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to 
the seat of the government of the United States, directed to the 
President of the Senate ; — The President of the Senate shall, in the 
presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the 
certificates and the votes shall then be counted; — -The person hav- 
ing the greatest number of votes for President, shall be the Presi- 
dent, if such number be a majority of the whole number of Electors 
appointed; and if no person have such majority, then from the per- 
sons having the highest numbers not exceeding three on the list of 
those voted for as President, the House of Representatives shall 
choose immediately, by ballot, the President. But in choosing the 
President, the votes shall be taken by states, the representation 
from each state having one vote; a quorum for this purpose shall 
consist of a member or members from two-thirds of the states, and 
a majority of all the states shall be necessary to a choice. And if 
the House of Representatives shall not choose a President whenever 
the right of choice shall devolve upon them, before the fourth day 
of March next following, then the Vice-President shall act as Pres- 
ident, as in the case of the death or other constitutional disability 
of the President. — The person having the greatest number of votes 
as Vice-President, shall be the Vice-President, if such number be a 
majority of the whole number of Electors appointed, and if no per- 
son have a majority, then from the two highest numbers on the list, 
the Senate shall choose the Vice-President; a quorum for the pur- 
pose shall consist of two-thirds of the whole number of Senators, 
and a majority of the whole number shall be necessary to a choice. 
But no person constitutionally inehgible to the office of President 
shall be eligible to that of Vice-President of the United States. * 



ARTICLE XIII, 

Section i. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except 
as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly 
convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject 
to their jurisdiction. Section 2. Congress shall have power to 
enforce this article by appropriate legislation. t 

* Proclaimed to be in force Sept. 25, 1804. 

t Proclaimed to be in force Dec. 18, 1865. Bears the unnecessary 
approval of the President. 



THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES xxxiii 



ARTICLE XIV. 

Section i. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, 
and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United 
States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make 
or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities 
of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any 
person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; 
nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection 
of the laws. 

Section 2. Representatives shall be apportioned among the 
several States according to their respective numbers, counting the 
whole number of persons in each State, excluding Indians not 
taxed. But when the right to vote at any election for the choice of 
electors for President and Vice President of the United States, 
Representatives in Congress, the Executive and Judicial officers of 
a State, or the members of the Legislature thereof, is denied to any 
of the male inhabitants of such State, being twenty-one years of 
age, and citizens of the United States, or in any way abridged, ex- 
cept for participation in rebellion, or other crime, the basis of 
representation therein shall be reduced in the proportion which 
the number of such male citizens shall bear to the whole number 
of male citizens twenty-one years of age in such State. 

Section 3. No person shall be a Senator or Representative in 
Congress, or elector of President and Vice President, or hold any 
office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any 
State, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of 
Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of 
any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any 
State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have 
engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid' 
or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may by a vote 
of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability. 

Section 4. The validity of the public debt of the United States, 
authorized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pen- 
sions and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or re- 
bellion, shall not be questioned. But neither the United States 
nor any State shall assume or pay any debt or obligation incurred 
in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United States, or any 
claim for the loss or emancipation of any slave ; but all such debts, 
obligations and claims shall be held illegal and void. 



XXXIV APPENDIX OF DOCUMENTS 

Section 5. The Congress shall have power to enforce, by 
appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.* 

ARTICLE XV. t 

Section i. The right of citizens of the United States to vote 
shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any 
State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude. 

Section 2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this 
article by appropriate legislation. — J 

ARTICLE XVI. 

The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on 
incomes, from whatever source derived, without apportionment 
among the several States, and without regard to any census or 
enumeration. ** 

ARTICLE XVII. 

The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two 
Senators from each State, elected by the people thereof, for six 
years; and each Senator shall have one vote. The electors in 
each State shall have the qualifications requisite for electors of the 
most numerous branch of the State legislatures. 

When vacancies happen in the representation of any State in 
the Senate, the executive authority of such State shall issue writs 
of election to fill such vacancies: Provided, That the legislature 
of any State may empower the executive thereof to make tem- 
porary appointment until the people fill the vacancies by election 
as the legislature may direct. 

This amendment shall not be so construed as to affect the elec- 
tion or term of any Senator chosen before it becomes valid as part 
of the Constitution. ** 

* Proclaimed to be in force July 28, 1868. 

t Amendments Thirteenth, Fourteenth and Fifteenth are numbered 
in the original manuscripts. 

X Proclaimed to be in force Mar. 30, 1870. 
** Adopted, 1913. 



STATE STATISTICS 





Date of 


Area in 


Population 






Admission 


Sq. Miles 


IN 1910 


I. Delaware 


(0 
4) 






2,050 


202,322 


2. Pennsylvania 


1 






45,215 


7,665,111 


3. New Jersey 








7,8iS 


2,537,167 


4. Georgia 






59,475 


2,609,121 


5. Connecticut . 






4,990 


1,114,756 


6. Massachusetts 




g 






8,31s 


3,366,416 


7. Maryland 






12,210 


1,295,346 


8. South Carolina 






30,570 


1,515,400 


9. New Hampshire 








9,305 


430,572 


10. Virginia 


•a 






42,450 


2,061,612 


II. New York 


H 






49,170 


9,113,614 


12. North Carolina 


5 






52,250 


2,206,287 


13. Rhode Island 


s 






1,250 


542,610 


14. Vermont admitted . 




March 

June 

June 

Feb. 

April 

Dec. 

Dec. 

Dec. 

Dec. 

March 

Aug. 

June 

Jan. 

March 

Dec. 

Dec. 

May 

Sept. 

May 

Feb. 

Jan. 

June 

Oct. 

March 

Aug. 

Nov. 

Nov. 

Nov. 

Nov. 

July 


4, 1791 

I, 1792 

I, 1796 

19, 1803 

8, 1812 

11. 1816 

10. 1817 
3, 1818 

14, 1819 

15, 1820 

10, 1821 
IS, 1836 
26, 1837 

3, 1845 
29, 184s 

28, 1846 

29, 1848 

9, 1850 

11, 1858 
14, 1859 
29, 1861 
19, 1863 
31, 1864 

I, 1867 
I, 1876 

3, 1889 
3, 1889 
8, 1889 

II, 1889 
3, 1890 


9,56s 
40,400 
42,050 
41 ,060 
48,720 
36,350 
46,810 
56,650 
52,250 
33,040 
69,415 
53,850 
58,915 
58,680 

265,780 
56,025 
56,040 

158,360 
83,36s 
96,030 
82,080 
24,780 

110,700 
77,510 

103,925 
70,79s 
77,6S^ 

146,080 
69,180 
84,800 


355,956 


15. Kentucky " 


2,289,90s 


16. Tennessee " 


2,184,789 


17. Ohio " 


4,767,121 


18. Louisiana " 


1,656,388 


19. Indiana " 


2,700,876 


20. Mississippi " . . 


1,797,114 


21. Illinois 


5,638,591 


22. Alabama " .... 


2,138,093 


23. Maine " 


742,371 


24. Missouri " 


3,293,33s 


25. Arkansas "... 


1,574,449 


26. Michigan " 


2,810,173 


27. Florida " . . 


751,139 


28. Texas " 


3,896,542 


29. Iowa " 


2,224,771 


30. Wisconsin " . . . . 


2,333,860 


31. California " 


2,377,549 


32. Minnesota " 


2,075,708 


33. Oregon " 


672,765 


34. Kansas " 


1,690,949 


35. West Virginia " 


1,221,119 


36. Nevada " 


81,87s 


37. Nebraska " . 


1,192,214 


38. Colorado " 


799,024 


39- North Dakota " 


577,056 


40. So. Dakota " .... 


583,888 


41. Montana " 


376,053 


42. Washington " 


1,141,990 


43. Idaho " 


325,594 


44. Wyoming " 


July 


10, iSgo 


97,8go 


145.965 


45. Utah " 


Jan. 


4, i8g6 


84,970 


373,351 


46. Oklahoma " 


Nov. 


16, 1907 


70,430 


1.657,155 




Jan, 
Feb. 


6, 1912 
14. 1912 


122.580 

tI3,020 


3 27. .301 









TERRITORIES, ETC. 



Alaska 

District of Columbia 

Hawaii 

Philippines* 

Porto Rico 



577,390 
70 

6,500 
140,000 

3,600 



64.356 

331,069 

191,909 

7,635,426 

1,118,012 



* 1903 



AREA OF THE UNITED STATES IN SQUARE MILES 

Area in 1790 827,ocx> 

Area in 1910 3,750,000 

The latter figures include all of the dependencies of the United States. 



POPULATION OF CONTINENTAL UNITED STATES BY DECADES 

1790 3,929,214 

1800 - 5,308,483 

iSio 7,239,881 

1820 9,638,453 

1830 ■ 12,866,020 

1840 17,069,453 

1850 23,191,876 

i860 31,443,321 

1870 38,558,371 

1880 50,155,783 

1890 62,622,250 

1900 75,477,467 

1910 91,972,266 

If the population of the Philippines and other island dependencies were added, the total popula- 
tion at the present time would be about 101,000,000. 



CONGRESS AND THE ELECTORAL COLLEGE 



States 



Alabama 

Arizona 

Arkansas 

California . . . . 

Colorado 

Connecticut. . , 

Delaware 

Florida 

Georgia 

Idaho 

Illinois 

Indiana 

Iowa 

Kansas 

Kentucky . . . . 

Louisiana 

Maine 

Maryland . . . . 
Massachusetts 
Michigan . . . . 
Minnesota. . . . 
Mississippi . . 

Missouri 

Montana 

Nebraska 



w 

i 


Pi 



< 


xn 






X 


\A 


2 


10 


12 


2 


I 


3 


2 


7 


Q 


2 


II 


13 


2 


4 


6 


2 


5 


7 


2 


I 


3 


2 


4 


6 


2 


12 


14 


2 


2 


4 


2 


27 


29 


2 


13 


IS 


2 


II 


13 


2 


8 


10 


2 


II 


13 


2 


8 


10 


2 


4 


6 


2 


6 


8 


2 


16 


18 


2 


13 


15 


2 


10 


12 


2 


8 


10 


2 


16 


18 ■ 


2 


2 


4 


2 


6 


8 



States 



Nevada 

New Hampshire. 

New Jersey 

New Mexico . . . . 

New York 

North CaroUna. . 
North Dakota. . . 

Ohio 

Oklahoma 

Oregon 

Pennsylvania . . . 
Rhode Island . . . 
South Carolina . 
South Dakota. . . 

Tennessee 

Texas 

Utah 

Vermont 

Virginia 

Washington 

West Virginia . . . 

Wisconsin 

Wyoming 



Total 96 



3 

4 
14 

3 
45 
12 

S 

24 
10 

s 

38 

s 

9 

5 



Two Tarritorial Delegates — one each from .\ixi.^j. j. ^i Hawaii — bic ki thj House of Represent- 
atives. These delegates are permitted to sp^ak, but not to vote. Porto Rico is represented in 
Congress by a Commissioner, and the Philippines by two Commissioners 

XXX vi 



INDEX 



"A B C" Powers, 369 - 
Adams, John, 98, 358 
Adams, John Quincy, 359 
Adams, Samuel, 98, 390 
Agricultural colleges, 79, 81 
Agriculture, department of, 79-81, 

318, 319 
Alaska, 5, 82; government of, 169, 

220, 248 
Aliens, as voters, 10, 11 
Allegiance, of citizens, 6-8 
Ambassadors, 242, 310 
Amendments, to U. S. constitution, 

191-193 
American Civic Association, 108 
American Revolution, 390 
Animal Industry, Bureau of, 79, 318 
Anti-saloon League, 65, 213 
Anti-trust laws, 83 
Apportionment acts, 272, 273 
Arbitration, of labor disputes, 87, 

88; by treaties, 381; permanent 

court of, 381, 382 
Archives, bureau of, 310 
Aristocracy, 176 
Assaying offices, 312, 313 
Assessors of the Town, 97 
Attorney General, 315 
Auditor of the County, 99 

Ballot, a free and honest, 15, 16; 
the Australian, 16, 50; slip tickets, 
17; "party column," 18; "office 
column," 18; short, 45, 46, 164; 
preferential, 54-58, 223, 224; 
Bucklin system, 54-57 

Bancroft, George, 315 



Banks, national, 343; regional, 344, 

345; pubUc control of, 345 
Belligerent, definition of, 371; rights 

of; 371) 372; vs. neutrals, 372, 

373 
Berger, Victor, 215 
" Big business," 83, 211 
Bill of attainder, 189 
Bill of rights, 186, 187, 389 
Blockade, 249, 376, 377 
"Blue sky laws," 85 
Bond issues, 351 
Boss, control of, 163, 165 
Boston, town of, 94 
Bourbon, the, 210 
Boy citizens, 28, 29 
Boy pohce, 28 
Boy scouts, 28 

Bryan, W. J., 209, 214, 237, 309 
Buchanan, President, 81 
Buckhn system, of ballot, 54-57 
Budget system, 286, 287 
Bureaus of government, 308, 309, 

311, 313, 314, 319, 320 

Cabinet, President's, 186, 203, 204, 
302, 303; departments of, 306, 
307; functions of, 307; relation 
to the President, 307, 308; homo- 
geneous character of, 308; and 
the constitution, 308 

Cabinet government, 164 

Calhoun, John C, 198, 254, 362, 363 

Campaign, election, 228-231; com- 
mittees of, 229; literature, 229; 
funds, 230, 231; cost of, 231 

Caucus bill, 295 



XXXVIII 



INDEX 



Cemetery trustees, 97 

Census bureau, 319 

Centralization, 180, 196, 200, 201 

Charge d'affaires, 310 

Charities, and poor relief, 134, 135 

Charter, 95 

Chemistry, bureau of, 319 

Child welfare, bureau of, 81, 320 

Chisholm vs. Georgia, 327 

Citizenship, definition of, i; State 
and national, under the confeder- 
ation and the constitution, 2, 5, 
323; ways of acquiring, 3, 5; of 
women, 3; of children, 3; of 
Porto Ricans, and Filipinos, 5; 
Enghsh language and, 4, 5-9; 
method of renouncing or losing, 5, 
6; of Indians, 5; "hyphenated," 
7, 8; Bureau of, 9, 311; and 
suffrage, 10-19; and party, 19- 
22; obligations of, 22, 24; and 
military service, 23, 24; activi- 
ties of, 24; and the community, 
26, 27; obstacles to good, 26; 
and the public schools, 29, 30; 
foreign-born whites, 71; con- 
stitutional rights of, 158, 159; 
in Porto Rico, 168; in Danish 
islands, 168 

City, the, definition of, no; prob- 
lem of, no; growth of, no, 112; 
character of population, in; 
social conditions in, 112, 113; 
franchises, 119; public health of, 
^33 J public recreation in, 133, 
134; charities and poor relief, 
134; poverty and crime, 134, 
135; education in, 135; slums 
and tenements, 135, 136; "city 
beautiful," 137 

City government, iioff.; increas- 
ing business of, 114; home rule 
for, 115, 116; relation to state 
legislatures, 115; officers, 118; 
counciLmen, or aldermen, 118; 
mayor, 118; administrative de- 
partments, 118; revenues, 118, 



119; official abuses of, 126; 
pohtical parties in, 120, 121; 
commission form of, 1 2 2 ff . ; bene- 
fits of, and objections to, 125, 
126; Galveston plan of, 122- 
124; Des Moines plan, com- 
mission form, 124; manager 
plan of, 128-131; Dayton, experi- 
ment in, 130; police, 133 

City manager, 12 8-1 31 

Civic clubs, 139 

Civic spirit, 26-29 

Civil liberty and justice, 389-391 

"Civil officers," 268 

Civil service commission, 320 

Civil War, 200 

Clerk, town, 97; county, 99 

Cleveland, President, 207, 235, 243, 
256, 366, 367 

Cloture rule, in Congress, 290 

Coinage, 337 

Coins, 340, 341; subsidiary, 341, 
342 

Collector of taxes, 97 

Colonialism, 168 

Colonies, Thirteen original, 95, 96 

Commerce, department of, 82, 319 

Commission form, of city govern- 
ment, 122 ff. See also City gov- 
ernment 

Committee system, of Congress, 186; 
evils and benefits of, 288, 289 

Common law, 328 

Community, and the citizen, 26, 
94 ff.; activities of, 28 

Community centers, 106 

Community civics, definition of, 96, 
108 

Comptroller of treasury, 312 

Concord, 390 

Confederate states, 198 

Confederation, i, 196, 198; con- 
gress of, 271, 272 

Conference committee, in Congress, 
294 

Conflict of laws, 328 

Congress, committee system, 186; 



INDEX 



implied powers of, 187, 188; 
powers of, 199; relation to Presi- 
dent, 301 ff.; influences the Presi- 
dent, 303, 304. See also House of 
Representatives, Senate 
Congressional campaign committee, 

231, 232 
Congressional district, size of, 273 
Congressional township, 102; School 

fund, 102 
Congressman at large, 275 
Conservatism, 183, 184, 210, 211 
Conservative, the, defined, 210; 

compared to radical, 210, 211 
Constables, town, 97; county, 99 
Constitution (of United States), fol- 
lowing the flag, 5 ; compared with 
England's, 183; and civil rights, 
184; imwritten features of, 185, 
186; growth of, 185-187, 191, 
194; restrictions of, 189; dis- 
tribution and classification of 
powers under, 189, 190; theory 
of, 190; inherent and resulting 
powers under, 190; amending 
process, 191-193; construction of, 
188, 189, 194, 208; national 
vs. federal principle under, 198, 

199 

Constitution, written and unwritten, 
182 ff.; flexible or rigid, 183; 
benefits of a written, 186, 245, 
277, 302; appUcation of principles 
in the, 389-396 

Constitutions, of States, changes in, 
41, 143, 14s; provisions of, 144; 
how made, 144; power of Con- 
gress over, 144; method of 
amending, 144; power of courts 
over, 41, 147, 157 

Consular service, 310 

Continental Congress, resolution of 
1780 on western lands, 167 

Contraband goods, private trade in, 

374, 375 
Convention of, 1787, 192, 271 
Conventions, nominating, 47, 48, 52 



Corporations, bureau of, 319 

Counterfeiting, 313 

County, system of government in 
Virginia, 96; functions of, 98; 
size and population of, 98; 
officers of, and their functions, 
98-102; Commissioners, Board of, 
99; coroner, duties of, 99, loi, 
102; clerk, duties of, 100; audi- 
tor, duties of, 100, loi 

Courts, delays of, 25, 26; civil and 
criminal in the county, 99; and 
the constitution, 157; need of 
reform, 160 

Courts, federal, kinds of, 325; 
classes of, 325; appointment and 
tenure of, 325; salaries of, 325; 
cases under, 326, 328; cases 
transferred from State courts, 326; 
final judge of national powers, 
327; officers of, 329; power to 
declare legislative acts unconsti- 
tutional, 329-331 

"Court-made law," 335 

Criminal classes, 62-64 

Cromwell, Oliver, 390 

Currency, elastic, 344 

Currency commission, 82 

Customs duties, 349 

Danish islands, 168 

Dayton, experiment in city manage- 
ment, 130 

Davis, Jefferson, 198 

Debs, E. v., 215 

Decatur, Commodore, famous toast 
of, 246 

Declaration of Independence, 182, 
380; principles of, 386-388; 393 

Declaration of Paris, 1856; principles 
of, 376, 377 

Democracy, problems in, 32 ff; 
direct, 42; definition of, 176; 
kinds of, 177; representative, 
177; mihtary training in, 179; 
spirit of, 390 

Democratic party, 207 ff. 



xl 



INDEX 



Demonstration farms, 79 

Dependencies, 167 ff. 

Dependents, 62-65 

Des Moines, plan of city govern- 
ment, 124 

Diplomacy, President's power in, 
242 

Diplomatic bureau, 310 

Diplomatic service, 310 

Direct legislation, see Initiative and 
Referendum 

District of Columbia, government 
of, 172 

Dorchester, town of, 94 

Dorr's rebellion, 255 

Double allegiance, 6-8; Roosevelt 
on, 9 

Drainage, 80 

Dred Scott case, i 

Education, Bureau of, 318; univer- 
sal, 393, 394 

Elections, 15-19, 232 

Electoral college, 238; advantages 
and disadvantages of, 239-241 

Eleventh amendment, 192, 327 

Eliot, President Charles W., 394 

Employment bureau, 82 

England, source of constitutional 
government, 183 

English-speaking peoples, unity of, 

370, 371 
Engraving and printing, bureau of, 

3", 313 

European nations and the Monroe 
Doctrine, 368 

Ex post facto laws, 187-189 

Executive, in harmony with legis- 
lative, 304 

Executive departments, 308 ff. 

Expatriation, 5, 6 

Expenditures, of Congress, 285, 286, 
287 

Experiment stations, 79 

Extradition, 149 

Factory inspection, 86 



Farmers' Alliance, 213 
Federal nation, compared to con- 
federation, 197; complex nature 

of, 198, 199, 201 
Federal republic, 196 ff. See also 

Republic, Federal nation, Union 
Federal reserve act, 343 
Federal reserve notes, 341, 343 
Federal trade commission, 321 
Federal Union, the, 181 
Federalist, the, 253 
Fifteenth amendment, 10, 11, 12, 

192 
Filisbustering, in Congress, 290, 291 
Fisheries, bureau of, 319 
Florida, 5 

Forestry, bureau of, 319 
Foreign affairs and popular rule, 381 
Foreign policy, of America, 357; 

of George Washington, 357-359 
Foreign relations, a new era in 

American, 383, 384 
Fourteenth amendment, 2, 11, 192 
France, government of, 180; treaty 

with, 357, 358; 360, 363, 364, 365, 

366 
Franchises, city, 119 

Galveston, plan of city government, 
122-124 

"Gateway amendment," 193 

Geodetic survey, 319 

Geological survey, 82, 318 

George III, tyranny of, 390 

German cruisers, 372, 373 

Gerry, Governor, 273 

Gerrymander, 273; legal difficulties 
of, 274 

Government, changes in since 1787, 
32-35; machinery of, 35; "experi- 
ment stations" in, 36; Oregon 
system of, 36; enlarging powers 
of, 76 ff.; early notion of, 76; 
new activities in, 78 ff.; com- 
missions, 82, 83; regulations for 
public welfare, 83-88; Colonial, 
94; by commercial corporations, 



INDEX 



xli 



95 ; local developed into State, 95; 
local, 95 ; development of State 
and national, 95; origin of repre- 
sentative in America, 95; county, 
system of 96-102; county- 
township, system of, 96, 102; 
town, system of, 96-98; forms and 
functions of, 173 ff.; scope of, 
174-175; divisions of, 234 

Government printing office, 321 

Governor State, 153-155, 162 

"Grandfather laws," 12 

Granges, 213 

Grant, Ulysses S., 365 

Great Britain, 96; attitude of, 
toward international law, 356, 
357, 359, 360, 366, 367 

Great War, the, 369 

"Green goods," 313 

Greenbacks, 340 

Guarantee clause, 255 

Habeas corpus, suspension of, 249, 
252 

Hague Tribunal, the, 381, 382 

Hamilton, Alexander, on implied 
powers, 188, 204, 253, 261, 302 

Hampden, 390 

Hawaii, 5; government of, 169; 220 

Hemans, Mrs., 392 

Henry, Patrick, 390 

High finance, 85 

Highway officers, 97 

Holy alliance of 181 5, 360 

Home economics, 80 

Homesteaders, 102 

House of Representatives, national, 
in treaty-making, 246-248; dif- 
ference froni the Senate, 272; 
apportionment for, 272; election 
of members, 275, 276; qualifica- 
tions and privileges of, 276; 
sessions of , 277; district residence 
required for, 277; salaries in, 278; 
vacancies in, 279; officers of, 
279-281; speaker of, 280-283*; 
party caucuses of, 280; "whip" 



in, 283; conunittee system of, 
283-286; ways and means com- 
mittee of, 285, 286; committee of 
the whole, 290; filibustering in, 
290, 291; cloture rule in, 290, 291; 
quorum in, 291, 292; method of 
voting in, 293; conference com- 
mittee of, 294; caucus bill in, 295; 
powers of, 297; politics and 
patronage in, 298, 299 

Ideals, importance of, 386; in 
government, 386-396 

Immigration, 67-73; problem of, 68; 
bureau of, 69, 320; extent of, 
69; restrictions on, 69-72; Bur- 
nett bill, 70; benefits of, 72, 73 

Impeachment, 267-269, 303 

Imperialism, 168 

Implied powers, 187, 188 

Income tax, 192, 212, 215, 351, 354 

Indeterminate sentence, 63 

Indian aiiairs, 317 

Industrial disputes, settlement of, 
87,88 

Inherent powers, 190 

Initiative and referendum, 36-43; 
causes for, 37; method of, 37; old 
forms of, 38; advantages of, 39; 
objections to, 39-42; -relation of 
to the powers of the judiciary, 41, 

215 

Interior department, 82 
International court, 382 
International law, character of, 355; 

subjects of, 356; scope and basis 

of, 356, 357; sources of, 357; 

Institute of, 379 
Interstate commerce commission, 82, 

320, 321 
Interstate obligations, 148, 149 
Investments, protection of, 85 
Irrigation, 80 

Jackson, President, use of veto, 244- 
24s; removals of, 254, 279, 303, 
307 



xlii 



INDEX 



Jay, Chief Justice, 327 

Jefferson, Thomas, and early gov- 
ernment, 76, 77, 91, 161, 162; on 
implied powers, 188, 204, 235, 251, 
301, 330, 358, 359, 361, 390, 393, 

394, 395 

Johnson, President, 207, 254, 268 

Juarez, 365 

Judges, recall of, 44 

Judicial supremacy, vs. legislative 
supremacy, 331-333 

Judiciary, State, 155, 156; national, 
323 ff.; under the Old Confeder- 
ation, 323, 324 

Jury, service, 22; trial by, 158, 187; 
grand and petit, 158, 159 

Justice, department of, 315, 316 

Kipling, Rudyard, 390 

Labor, department of, 82, 320; sta- 
tistics of, 320 

Labor laws, 86 

Labor reform parties, 213 

Land system, 102 

Law, enforcement of, 24; respect 
for, 25; kinds of in America, 332; 
of the constitution, 332; "court- 
made," 335; obedience to, 392, 393 

Law, International, 355, 357 

Laws, how made, in the State, 152, 
153; in Congress, 289-292 

Legal tender, 341 

Lexington, 390 

Liberal, the, 211 

Liberty bonds, 351 

Library of Congress, 321 

Library, trustees of town, 97 

Lighthouses, 319 

Lincoln, President, war powers of, 
249, 250, 251, 307, 309, 365, 366, 

392, 393, 395 

Liquor trafi&c, regulation of, 64-66; 
"blind tiger," 90 

Local government, nonpartisan, 53; 
benefits of, 104; national impor- 
tance of, 105; forms of, 96-102 



Log-rolling, 163, 266, 299, 302 
London, Meyer, 215 
Lusitania, the, 378, 379 

Magna Charta, 25, 250 

Majority, the rule of the, 392, 393 

Marbury vs. Madison, 329 

Markets, office of, 80 

Marshall, John, construction of the 
constitution, 188-189, i94, 324, 
329, 330 

Massachusetts, "CiviU Body Poli- 
tick," 94 

Maximilian, 364, 366 

Mayflower compact, 94 

"Melting pot," the, 9 

Merit system, 60, 61 

Merryman case, 251, 252 

Mexican cessions, 5 

Mexican War, 362 

Mexico, the case of, 363-366; 
European intervention in, 363 

Middle West, township of, 102 

Military service, 23 

Militarism, 178; danger of, 252 

Military training, 179 

Militia, 243, nationalization of, 394 

Mine inspection, 86 

Ministers, 310 

Mint, director of, 312; locations of, 
312 

Mob law, 24 

Monarchy, 175 

Monetary system, importance of, 
342, 343 

Money, kinds of, 337, 339, 340; 
standard of, 338; functions of, 
338; value of, 339; quantitative 
theory of, 339; gold and silver, 
340; legal tender, quality of, 341; 
coin and bullion, value of, 342; 
government regulation of, 344, 

345 
Money order service, 79 
Monopolies, protection against, 83; 
■ natural, 88 
Monroe Doctrine, the, 359-361; 



INDEX 



diii 



&,ppiications of, 362-370; en- 
larged, 367, 368; European 
nations and, 368; permanent pur- 
pose of, 369; German hostility to, 
369, 370; a "world doctrine," 

369, 370 
" Moonshining,"3i3 
Mugwumps, 20 
Munitions, embargo on, 375 

Napoleon III, 364 

Nation, the larger cormnunity, 96; 

the foreign relations of, 355-385; 

the domestic affairs of, 356 
National bank notes, 341 
National banking system, 343, 344 
National government, restrictions 

on, 189; inherent powers of, 190; 

expenses of, 347 
National law, applied to individuals, 

323, 324 

National municipal league, 131 

National museum, 320 

National party committees, 218 ff. 

National party conventions, 219 ff.; 
"call" for, 219; number of dele- 
gates in, 219; basis of repre- 
sentation in, 220; readjustment of 
representation in, 220, 221; con- 
tested delegates in, 221; election 
of delegates to, 222; differences 
between Democratic and Repub- 
lican, 222; instructions of dele- 
gates to, 222-223; organization 
of, 224, 225; procedure of, 225, 
226; committees of, 225 

National powers, growth of, 89-91 

National unity, 77 

National vs. federal principle, 198 ff. 

National voters' league, 299 

Nationalization, forces leading to, 
200 

Naturalization, definition and proc- 
ess of, 3, 4; aliens barred from, 
4; bureau of, 4, 320 

Naval academy, 315 

Navigation, bureau of, 319 



Navy department, 315 

Neutral, definition of a, 372; 

struggle of, for rights, 375, 376 
Neutrality, proclamation of, 358 
Nevada, 168, 271 
New England, council or assembly 

in, 95; county in, 99 
New Haven, town government in, 97 
Nominations, by petition, 53 ff.; 

minority control in, 54; See also 

Conventions, Primary 
Noncolonization, 359, 360 
Nonintervention, 360 

Oligarcy, 178 

Ordinance of 1785, 102 

Oregon system of government, 36, 

255 
Organized charity, 62-64 
Otis, James, 98 
Overseers of the poor, 97 

Panics, 342, 344 

Parliament, supremacy of, 331, 332 
Parties, past and present, 203 ff.; 
defined, 205; historic issues and 
divisions between, 207-209; in 
and out of power, 208; minor, 
213; national committees of, 

218 ff.; national conventions of, 

219 ff. 

Party, independence of, and alle- 
giance to, 20-22; false loyalty to, 
Ss; and local government, 53; 
machinery of, 218 ff.; method 
of nominating and electing presi- 
dents, 218 ff. 

Patents, 82 

Patriotism, 27 

Patronage, 298; and the President, 
302 

Peace, league for enforcement of, 

383 
Pensions, 82; Bureau of, 317 
People's party, 213, 214 
Philippine Islands, 5; government 

of, 171, 172, 220 



xliv 



INDEX 



Pilgrim Fathers, 94, 383 

Plant Industry, Bureau of, 79, 318 

Platform, party, 51; 225 

Pljonouth, town of, 94 

Police powers, 65 

Polk, President, 248, 362 

Populists, "middle of the road," 
214. See also People's party 

"Pork barrel," 163, 277, 298, 299 

Porto Rico, 168; government of, 
169, 220 

Postal department, 78, 79, 316 

Postal savings banks, 78, 312 

Postmaster General, 316 

Poverty and crime, 62-65, 134, 135 

Preferential ballot, 54-58 

President (of U. S.), voting for, 11, 
185, 189; as party leader, 203, 
204; method of nominating and 
electing, 2 i8'ff.; growth in powers 
of, ^234, 235; relation to Congress, 
234-236, 301 ff.; term and quali- 
fications of, 236, 237; method of 
election, 237, 238; powers and 
duties of, 241-243; veto power of, 
243-245 ; treaty-making power 
of, 246-248; war powers of, 248- 
252; power of appointment and 
removal, 252-254; power to 
protect the States, 255-256; 
duty to execute laws, 256; and 
"senatorial courtesy," 266, 267; 
impeachment of, 267-269; how 
he influences Congress, 301-303; 
and patronage, 302 

Presidential electors, 185, 237, 238 

Presidential succession, 305 

Presidential Succession Act, 306 

Previous question, 291 

Price and value, 338 

Primary, party, 46, 47; State 
control of, 48; essential features 
in, 49, 50; Australian ballot in, 
50; and party platform, 51; 
objections to, 51, 52; presidential 
preference, 223, 224 

Prime minister, 234 



Privateering, 377 

Progressive pohcies, 206, 212, 214 

Progressives, the, 211, 214 

Prohibition, 64-66 

Prohibition party, 213 

Proportional representation, 58-60 

Protection, sec Tariff 

Prussia, 360, 369, 370 

Public health, 67, 133 

Public opinion, power of, 24, 27 

Public revenues, 346; sources of, 

348, 349, 35 2 
Public service corporations, 88 
Pubhc utihties, control of, 88, 89; 

commission for, 89; in cities, 132, 

133 _ 
PubHcity of campaign funds, 231 
Pure food laws, 84, 319 
Pym, 390 

Quorum, in Congress, 291, 292 

Radical, the, defined, 210; com- 
pared to conservative, 210, 211 
Reactionary, 210 
Recall, the, 43 ; of judges, 44 
Reclamation bureau, 80 
Reconstruction acts, 10 
Recorder, 99; duties of, loi 
Recreation, public, 133, 134 
Referendum, see Initiative 
Removing power, in the State, 155 
Registry of treasury, 312 * 
Religion, freedom of, 391 
Representation, Enghsh and Ameri- 
can ideas compared, 277, 278 
Repubhc, 177; essential features of, 
179-180; centralized and de- 
centralized, 180; ' the federal, 
196 ff. 
Republican party, 207 ff. 
Resulting powers, 190 
"Riders," legislative, 296, 304 
Rights of Nations, 379, 380 
"Ripper" legislation, 121 
Road-making, 104, 105 
Roosevelt, President, 209, 235 



INDEX 



xlv 



Root, Elihu, on State and national 

powers, 90, 91 
Rural free delivery, 78 
Rural government, 104; and city, 

105 
Russia, 359, 360 

Salem, the town of, 94 
School Committees, 97 
Schools, Superintendent of, 99, loi 
Secret service, 313, 315, 316 
Secretary of State, 309, 310 
Selectmen, 97 

Self-government, a goal, 173 
Senate (U. S.), in treaty-making, 
246-248; composition of, 258; 
terms of members, 258; method of 
election to, 258, 259; character 
of, 259, 260; classes in, 259; 
presiding ofi&cer of, 259, 268; 
purposes in the creation of, 261; 
legislative powers of, 261, 262, 
297, 298; executive powers of, 
262-264; growing importance of, 
263; executive session of, 264; 
secret sessions of, 264; courtesy 
of, 265, 267; power over appoint- 
ments, 265; judicial powers of, 
267-269; reasons for success of, 
269, 270 
Separation of powers, theory of, 

234, 23s 
Seventeenth amendment, 193, 259 
Seward, William H., 363, 365 
Sheriff, duties of the, 99, 100 
Sixteenth amendment, 192 
Smithsonian Institution, 320 
Social conditions, changes in, 77, 78 
Socialists, 211, 214, 216 
"Solid South," 207 
South America, 361 
Spain, 363 

Spanish-American War, 5 
Speaker, of the House of Repre- 
sentatives, 280-283, 292, 293 
Spoils system, 60, 61, 132, 254, 267 
Spokane, city government of, 127 



State, department of, 309, 310 

State powers, decline of, 89-91 

States rights, 81, 90; how defined, 
146-149, 207, 208, 227, 324, 330; 
States, suffrage in, 13; unity of 
local government, 116, 117; im- 
portance of, 142; powers of, 142, 
143; constitutions of, 143, 145; 
original powers of, 145, 146; 
legislatures, 150, 151; executives 
of, 153, 154; officers, 153; ad- 
ministration of justice in, 157- 
159; defects and failures of gov- 
ernment in, 160-163; responsible 
leadership in, 162; proposed 
reforms in, 163-165; restrictions 
on, 189, igo; relation to nation, 
196 £f.; relation of counties to, 
197; relation to international 
law, 356, 357 

Statistics, Bureau of, 320 

Steamboat inspection, 319 

Stuart kings, t3T:anny of the, 390 

Submarines, 378 

Suffrage, and citizenship, 10; and 
fifteenth amendment, 10; and 
aliens, 10, 11; determined by 
States, 11; quaUfications for, 11, 
12; a "right" or a "privilege," 
12; democratic basis for, 13; rule 
for determining, 13; manhood, 
14; argument for extended, 14; 
women and, 15, 212, 215 

Sumptuary legislation, 77 

Supreme court, as judge of the con- 
stitution, 147, 243, 325, 329-332; 
and politics, ^S3'j decisions of, 
334; control of, 334 

Surplus, evils of, 286 

Surveyor, of county, 102 

Sweatshops, 86 

Taft, President, 171, 209, 235, 237 
Taney, Chief Justice, 249, 251 
Tariff, revision of, 207; Wilson- 
Gorman, 243; 349 
Tariff commission, 83 



xh 



INDEX 



Taxation, justice in, 346; prin- 
ciples of, 347; power of national 
government in, 348; limitations 
on, 348, 349; internal, 350; State 
and local, 352, 353 

Tenure of Office act, 254 

Territories, government of, 167 ff.; 
organizing acts for, 167; method 
"of changing into States, 168, 169J 
acquisition of, 169 

"Third parties," 213; see also 
Parties 

Thirteenth amendment, 192 

Tickets, see Ballot 

Topographical survey, 82 

Town system of government in New 
England, 96-98; meeting in New 
England, 97, 98; officers of, 97 

Towns, federation of, 95 

Township trustee, 103 

Trade commission, 83 

Treasurer, of the town, 97; of the 
county, 100; of U. S., 312 

Treasury, department of, 311, 312 

Treaties, arbitration by, 381 

Treaty-making power, 246-248 

Twelfth amendment, 192 

Two-thirds rule, in democratic 
national convention, 226, 227, 228 

Unconstitutional laws, 41 

Union, American, compared to solar 
system, 200, 201 ; see also Repub- 
hc. Federal Republic; and na- 
tionality, 395 

Unit rule, in party conventions, 227, 
228 

United States, changes in govern- 
ment, 32, 33; independence of, 
96 

Universities, rise of, in States, 102 

Valley Forge, 390 
Value, and price, 338, 339 
Venezuela, the case of, 366, 367 
Veto, of President, 243-245; 
" pocket," 244; theory and prac- 



tice of, in England and America, 

2^5, 303_ 
Vice Presidency, voting for, 11; 

nomination for, 228; qualifications 

for, 237; method of electing to, 

237-239; functions of, 259, 305 
Virginia, "Civill Body Politick," 94; 

House of Burgesses, 95; county 

system of government in, 96; 

University of, 393 
Virtual representation, 278 
"Visit and search," right of, 373 
Voters, see SuQ'rage 
Voting, straight and scratched, 19; 

machines for, 19; method of, 19; 

bUnd, 45 



Waite, Henry M., 130 
War, definition of, 371 
War amendments, 192 
War department, 82, 313- 

eral staff, 314 
War savings stamps, 351 
Washington, George, 32, 

tude toward parties, 

236, 390 
Washington, city, 172 
Weather bureau, 79, 318 
Weaver, James B., 213 
Webb-Kenyon act, 66 
West Indies, 357 
"Whip," in Congress, 283 
Wilson, President, 5, 70, 

235, 236, 249, 301, 309, 

394 
Women, citizenship of, 3 

Suffrage, Citizenship 
Workmen's compensation 
World Community, 96 
World Peace, 379-384; 

395, 396 
World War, 249, 317, 321; 
purpose in, 395, 396 



•31s; gen- 



33; atti- 
204, 235, 



171, 207, 
368, 369, 

; see also 
laws, 87 
ideal of, 

America's 



, Yeardley, Governor, 95 
Yucatan, the case of, 362, 363 



ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 

Acknowledgements are due to the following for illustrations: to Collier's 
Weekly for " Scientist at Work in Dairy Laboratory"; to Child Welfare 
Committee, New York City, for " Children Working in a Cannery," "At 
the Milk Station," " Seward Park Playground "; to The Independent for 
" Immigration Chart," page 69, "Employees' Dining Room in an Indus- 
trial Establishment"; to Good Roads Magazine for "A Road before and 
after Improvement "; to American City Magazine for " Health Message to 
the People," " Beginners' Class in a Moonlight School," " New City Hall, 
Oakland, California," " Chart Illustrating the New and the Old Way in 
Spokane; " to the Social Hygiene Association, New York City, for "A 
City Dispensary " ; to Messrs. Foster and Reynolds, New York City, for 
"The Executive Ofj&ces," " U. S. Senate Ofi&ce Building," "Office Build- 
ing, House of Representatives," "President's Room at the Capitol," 
"Treasury Department," "A Silver Vault, U. S. Treasury," "Patent 
Office "; to the Bureau of Census for map of "Per Cent of Foreign-born 
and Native-born Whites in U. S. "; to National Voters League for chart 
of "Field of Congressional Government." Also to George H. Doran 
Company for the quotation from Roosevelt's "The Children of the 
Crucible," on page 9. 



PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 



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